El molde está junto a la rasqueta.

Because this sentence gives the location of something, and Spanish normally uses estar for location.

• El molde está junto a la rasqueta = the mould/tin is next to the scraper.
• Ser is used for identity, classification, origin, and similar ideas, not ordinary physical location.

So:

• Es un molde = It is a mould.
• Está en la cocina = It is in the kitchen.

The one major exception is with events, where Spanish often uses ser for location:

• La reunión es en Madrid = The meeting is in Madrid.

Junto a means next to, beside, or right by.

It expresses closeness between two things:

• El molde está junto a la rasqueta = The mould is next to the scraper.

A very common alternative is al lado de:

• El molde está al lado de la rasqueta

In many situations, these mean basically the same thing.

Because junto is normally followed by the preposition a when it means next to.

So the pattern is:

• junto a + noun/pronoun

Examples:

• junto a la puerta = next to the door
• junto al horno = next to the oven

Notice that a + el becomes al:

• junto al molde
• but junto a la rasqueta

Because nouns in Spanish have grammatical gender.

• molde is masculine → el molde
• rasqueta is feminine → la rasqueta

This does not necessarily mean the object is “male” or “female”; it is just a grammatical category.

A learner might expect molde to be feminine because it ends in -e, but nouns ending in -e can be either masculine or feminine, so you usually have to learn them with the article:

• el molde
• la rasqueta

Usually yes in a normal sentence like this.

Spanish often uses definite articles where English might not, especially when referring to specific everyday objects already understood in context.

So:

• El molde está junto a la rasqueta sounds natural.

If you removed the articles, it would usually sound incomplete or unnatural in most ordinary contexts:

• Molde está junto a rasqueta ❌

You might omit articles only in some special styles, labels, lists, headlines, or very unusual contexts.

In this sentence, junto is part of the expression junto a, which functions like a prepositional phrase meaning next to.

As an adjective, junto/junta/juntos/juntas can mean together or close in some contexts:

• Están juntos = They are together.

But in your sentence, it is best to learn junto a as a fixed location expression:

• junto a la rasqueta = next to the scraper

So for practical purposes, treat junto a as one unit of meaning.

The accent mark shows where the stress goes: es-TÁ.

It also helps distinguish forms in writing. In this case:

• esta without an accent can be a demonstrative adjective in some contexts, like this
• está with an accent is the verb form is

So the accent is important both for pronunciation and meaning.

A simple pronunciation guide is:

• El molde → el MOL-de
• está → es-TÁ
• junto a → HUN-to a
• la rasqueta → la ras-KE-ta

A few useful notes for Spain:

• j in junto is a throaty sound, not like English j
• z does not appear here, but in much of Spain c before e/i and z are pronounced with a th-like sound; that does not affect rasqueta
• r in rasqueta is a tapped Spanish r, lighter than many English r sounds

A rough overall approximation might be:

el MOL-de es-TÁ HUN-to a la ras-KE-ta

Yes, Spanish word order is fairly flexible, though some orders are more neutral than others.

The most neutral version is:

• El molde está junto a la rasqueta.

You could also say:

• Junto a la rasqueta está el molde.

That version sounds a bit more descriptive or emphatic, as if you are pointing out where the mould is.

Both are grammatical.

Yes, rasqueta is used in Spain for a scraper, especially a kitchen scraper or dough scraper depending on context.

Exact vocabulary can vary by region or by the object’s specific use. In kitchen contexts, Spanish speakers might also use other terms depending on shape and purpose, but rasqueta is a perfectly natural word in Spain.

As always with tools and kitchen items, the exact English translation may depend on context:

• scraper
• dough scraper
• bench scraper
• spatula-like scraper

But if the meaning has already been shown to the learner, the key point is that rasqueta is a normal feminine noun in Spain.

Yes, but the meaning changes slightly.

• junto a = right next to / beside
• cerca de = near / close to

So:

• El molde está junto a la rasqueta = The mould is right next to the scraper.
• El molde está cerca de la rasqueta = The mould is near the scraper.

If you want the idea of immediate adjacency, junto a is better.

Spanish often leaves out the subject pronoun when it is understood from context.

Here, el molde is the subject, so está means is referring to the mould:

• El molde está... = The mould is...

Spanish does not need to add él or ello here.

In fact, adding a subject pronoun would usually sound unnecessary unless you wanted emphasis.