Serva aquam calidam in pelvim fundit et sapone parvo manus lavat; situlam prope ianuam relinquit.

It is a noun here: serva = slave woman, maidservant, or female slave.

A beginner might wonder whether Serva could mean Save! / Preserve! from the verb servare, and that is a real form in Latin. But in this sentence, the rest of the grammar makes it clear that serva is the subject of the sentence:

• Serva = the maidservant
• fundit, lavat, relinquit = she pours, she washes, she leaves

So serva is nominative singular, the person doing the actions.

Because both words are in the accusative singular feminine:

• aquam = water as the direct object
• calidam = warm, agreeing with aquam

In Latin, adjectives must agree with the nouns they describe in:

• gender
• number
• case

So:

• aqua = nominative singular
• aquam = accusative singular
• calida = nominative singular feminine
• calidam = accusative singular feminine

Since the maidservant is pouring the water, water is the direct object, so it must be accusative: aquam calidam.

Because in can take either the accusative or the ablative, depending on the meaning.

• in + accusative = into / motion toward
• in + ablative = in / on / location

Here the idea is pouring water into the basin, so there is motion into something. That is why Latin uses:

• in pelvim = into the basin

If the sentence were describing something already located in the basin, you would expect in pelvi.

Pelvim is the accusative singular of pelvis, pelvim, a third-declension feminine noun meaning basin or washbasin.

So the forms are something like:

• nominative: pelvis
• accusative: pelvim

That is why after in with motion, you get in pelvim.

This is the ablative of means or instrument: it tells you with what something is done.

So:

• sapone = with soap
• parvo = small / little, agreeing with sapone

Together, sapone parvo means with a little soap or more literally with small soap.

Latin often uses the ablative without a preposition to express means or instrument:

• gladio pugnat = he fights with a sword
• aqua lavat = she washes with water
• sapone parvo manus lavat = she washes her hands with a little soap

Because in context, English often translates parvus/parva/parvum more naturally as little rather than small.

So sapone parvo is literally something like:

• with small soap

But that sounds unnatural in English. A better translation is:

• with a little soap

This is a normal kind of translation choice: Latin uses an adjective, but English may use a phrase that sounds more idiomatic.

Here manus is accusative plural, meaning hands.

That can be confusing because manus is a fourth-declension noun, and some of its forms look the same. In this sentence, manus is the direct object of lavat:

• manus lavat = she washes (her) hands

So even though manus looks unusual, here it is plural and accusative.

Because Latin often leaves out possessive words like his, her, or their when the meaning is obvious.

In English, we usually say:

• she washes her hands

But Latin can simply say:

• manus lavat = literally she washes hands

Since the subject is clearly the maidservant, Latin assumes these are her hands unless there is some reason to say otherwise.

If Latin wanted extra emphasis or contrast, it could say manus suas, but it does not need to.

Because it is the direct object of relinquit.

• situla = bucket
• situlam = bucket as the thing being left

So:

• situlam prope ianuam relinquit = she leaves the bucket near the door

This is the same reason you get aquam earlier: both are things directly acted upon by the verb.

Because prope takes the accusative.

So:

• ianua = door
• ianuam = door in the accusative
• prope ianuam = near the door

Some Latin prepositions take the ablative, some take the accusative, and a few can take either with different meanings. Prope is one of the ones that normally takes the accusative.

Because Latin word order is much more flexible than English word order.

In English, we strongly expect:

• subject + verb + object

But Latin often places the verb later, especially at the end of a clause. So this sentence has a very natural Latin feel:

• Serva aquam calidam in pelvim fundit
• et sapone parvo manus lavat
• situlam prope ianuam relinquit

Latin uses endings, not just word order, to show what each word is doing. That lets the writer arrange words for rhythm, emphasis, or style.

Grammatically, the verbs are in the present tense:

• fundit = she pours
• lavat = she washes
• relinquit = she leaves

The present tense in Latin can describe:

• something happening now
• a repeated or habitual action
• a vivid narrative present

So by grammar alone, it could mean either:

• she is pouring / washing / leaving or
• she pours / washes / leaves

The broader context would tell you which is intended. In beginner Latin, this kind of sentence often describes a routine or a scene in simple present time.

The semicolon is just punctuation joining two closely related parts of the sentence.

The first part gives two actions:

• she pours warm water into the basin
• she washes her hands with a little soap

Then after the semicolon comes another related action:

• she leaves the bucket near the door

It does not change the grammar of the Latin itself. It simply helps the reader see the structure more clearly.