Fuligo supra focum nigra est.

A word-by-word breakdown:

• fuligo = soot
  • nominative singular
  • the subject of the sentence
• supra = above / over
  • a preposition here
• focum = hearth, fireplace
  • accusative singular of focus
  • the object of supra
• nigra = black
  • feminine nominative singular
  • describes fuligo
• est = is
  • 3rd person singular present of esse (to be)

So the structure is basically:

Fuligo | supra focum | nigra est
Soot | above the hearth | is black

Because it agrees with fuligo, and fuligo is a feminine noun in Latin.

Latin adjectives must agree with the nouns they describe in:

• gender
• number
• case

Here:

• fuligo = feminine, singular, nominative
• so the adjective must also be feminine, singular, nominative
• therefore: nigra

Compare:

• niger = masculine
• nigra = feminine
• nigrum = neuter

Since the subject is fuligo, Latin uses nigra.

Because supra commonly takes the accusative.

So:

• supra focum = above the hearth

Even though English learners often expect a “location” phrase to use something like an ablative, some Latin prepositions simply govern particular cases. Supra regularly takes the accusative in classical Latin.

So focum is accusative singular because it is the object of the preposition supra.

Here it shows location: above the hearth.

In English, above can describe where something is without any movement, and Latin supra can do the same. So this sentence does not mean soot is moving over the hearth. It simply tells you where the soot is.

Because Latin has no definite article and no indefinite article.

That means Latin does not normally have separate words for:

• the
• a / an

So fuligo can mean:

• soot
• the soot

and focum can mean:

• a hearth
• the hearth

You figure out which is best from the context.

No, Latin does not always put the verb last, but it often does.

Latin word order is much freer than English word order because Latin uses endings to show grammatical relationships. That means the sentence could be rearranged in several ways without changing the basic meaning, for example:

• Fuligo supra focum nigra est
• Fuligo nigra est supra focum
• Supra focum fuligo nigra est

The version with est at the end is very natural Latin prose style.

Yes: nigra is a predicate adjective.

That means it is linked to the subject by a form of to be.

In English:

• The soot is black

In Latin:

• Fuligo nigra est

Here:

• fuligo = subject
• est = linking verb
• nigra = predicate adjective

So nigra is not directly attached like the black soot would be. Instead, it tells you what the soot is like: the soot is black.

Fuligo is a third-declension noun.

Its nominative singular is fuligo, and it is feminine. A learner may notice that it does not look like a typical first-declension feminine noun ending in -a. That is normal: grammatical gender in Latin does not always match the noun ending.

So even though fuligo ends in -o, it is still feminine, which is why the adjective is nigra.

In sense, it gives the location of the soot: the soot is above the hearth.

You can think of it as answering where?

• Where is the soot?
• Supra focum

At the same time, because Latin is flexible, the phrase fits into the whole statement fuligo ... nigra est. In practical terms, the easiest way to understand it is:

• The soot above the hearth is black or
• The soot is black above the hearth

The exact English phrasing depends on context, but the Latin grammar is straightforward either way.

Sometimes Latin can omit a form of esse (to be), especially in certain styles, but in a simple teaching sentence like this, including est is normal and clear.

So:

• Fuligo supra focum nigra est = fully expressed
• Fuligo supra focum nigra might occur in some contexts, but it is less suitable for a beginner example

For learners, it is best to read est plainly as is.

Because fuligo is in the nominative case, which is the usual case for the subject.

Also:

• nigra is nominative singular feminine, agreeing with fuligo
• est is singular, matching a singular subject
• focum cannot be the subject here, because it is accusative and belongs to supra

So the grammar points clearly to:

• fuligo = subject
• nigra est = what is said about the subject
• supra focum = location phrase

No, not in this sentence.

Nigram would be:

• feminine
• singular
• accusative

But the adjective here must agree with fuligo, which is nominative singular feminine. Since nigra is describing the subject through est, it must be nominative, not accusative.

So:

• correct: fuligo nigra est
• not correct here: fuligo nigram est

It follows a very common Latin pattern:

subject + prepositional phrase + predicate adjective + form of esse

More specifically:

• fuligo = subject
• supra focum = prepositional phrase
• nigra = predicate adjective
• est = linking verb

This is a useful model for many simple Latin sentences, such as:

• Puella in villa laeta est = The girl is happy in the house
• Aqua in rivo clara est = The water is clear in the stream

So this sentence is a good example of a standard descriptive Latin sentence.