La clessidra è già vuota.

In Italian, the definite article is used more often than in English. La clessidra means the hourglass.

Here, la is the feminine singular definite article, used because clessidra is a feminine singular noun.

So:

• la clessidra = the hourglass
• una clessidra = an hourglass / an hourglass

Italian usually does not drop the article in a sentence like this.

Yes, clessidra is feminine, which is why the sentence uses:

• la before the noun
• vuota instead of vuoto

A learner might expect nouns ending in -a to be feminine, and that is often true. In this case, clessidra is indeed feminine.

You can see the agreement clearly:

• la clessidra
• vuota

Both are feminine singular.

The accent is important because è and e are different words in Italian:

• è = is
• e = and

So in this sentence, è is the verb to be:

• La clessidra è già vuota. = The hourglass is already empty.

Without the accent, the meaning would be wrong.

È is the third person singular present tense of essere (to be).

The present tense forms are:

• io sono = I am
• tu sei = you are
• lui/lei è = he/she is
• noi siamo = we are
• voi siete = you all are
• loro sono = they are

Since la clessidra is a singular noun, Italian uses è.

Già usually goes before the word or idea it modifies. Here it modifies the whole idea of being empty, so è già vuota means is already empty.

This placement is very natural in Italian:

• è già pronta = is already ready
• è già tardi = it is already late
• è già vuota = is already empty

So the order is normal and idiomatic.

The accent marks the stressed vowel and is part of the correct spelling: già.

It means already.

In writing, you should include the accent. Italian uses accents to distinguish correct word forms and pronunciation. So write già, not gia.

Because vuota agrees with clessidra, which is feminine singular.

The adjective vuoto (empty) changes form to match the noun:

• vuoto = masculine singular
• vuota = feminine singular
• vuoti = masculine plural
• vuote = feminine plural

Examples:

• Il bicchiere è vuoto. = The glass is empty.
• La bottiglia è vuota. = The bottle is empty.
• Le scatole sono vuote. = The boxes are empty.

So clessidra requires vuota.

Italian often omits subject pronouns when they are clear from the context or the verb form. This is called being a pro-drop language.

In English, you must say:

• It is already empty.

In Italian, you normally just say:

• È già vuota.

Or, if you want to name the thing:

• La clessidra è già vuota.

There is no need for an Italian word equivalent to it in this sentence.

It is possible in some contexts, but La clessidra è già vuota is the most natural and standard wording.

Putting già after vuota can sound marked, literary, regional, or dependent on emphasis. For a learner, the safest choice is:

• La clessidra è già vuota.

That is the normal word order.

It is an adjective, but in this sentence it works as a predicate adjective: it comes after the verb essere and describes the noun.

So:

• la clessidra = subject
• è = verb
• già vuota = description of the subject

This is similar to English:

• The hourglass is empty.

The adjective is not directly before the noun; instead, it comes after to be.

Yes. That is a very direct and accurate translation.

Word by word:

• La = the
• clessidra = hourglass
• è = is
• già = already
• vuota = empty

So the structure matches English quite closely.

It is pronounced roughly like kless-SEE-dra.

A more careful breakdown is:

• cle- sounds like kleh
• -ssi- has the stress: SEE
• -dra sounds like drah

So: kleh-SSEE-drah

A useful thing to notice is that cl at the beginning is pronounced like a hard cl sound, not like English ch.

In this sentence, it most naturally means physically empty: the hourglass has run out of sand.

More generally, vuoto/vuota can also be used in broader ways, like English empty:

• una stanza vuota = an empty room
• sentirsi vuoto = to feel empty

But with clessidra, the literal meaning is the obvious one.