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Questions & Answers about El vaso está lleno.
Why is está used instead of es in El vaso está lleno?
In Spanish, ser and estar both mean “to be,” but they serve different purposes. Estar is used for temporary states, locations or conditions. Since “full” describes a temporary condition of the glass, you use está. If you tried El vaso es lleno, it would sound unnatural because you’d be treating “full” as an inherent trait rather than a state.
Could you say El vaso es lleno?
No. That construction is incorrect in Spanish. You must use está for states. Saying El vaso es lleno would make it sound like “full” is a permanent characteristic of the glass, which doesn’t fit how Spanish expresses conditions.
Why does the adjective lleno come after the noun vaso?
In Spanish, most descriptive adjectives follow the noun: silla roja, coche rápido, vaso lleno. Placing lleno before the noun (e.g. lleno vaso) is either poetic or archaic. You’ll virtually always hear it after the noun in everyday speech.
How does lleno change with gender and number?
Adjectives in Spanish agree with the noun’s gender (masculine/feminine) and number (singular/plural). Here’s how lleno adapts:
- Masculine singular: vaso lleno
- Feminine singular: taza llena
- Masculine plural: vasos llenos
- Feminine plural: tazas llenas
Why is the definite article el used instead of an indefinite one like un?
Using el makes the sentence refer to a specific or known glass: “the glass.” If you said Un vaso está lleno, you’d be saying “a glass is full,” which is grammatically possible but implies “one of several glasses happens to be full.” Native speakers usually use el when the context already identifies the glass.
How do you specify what the glass is full of?
Add de + [substance] after lleno. For example:
- El vaso está lleno de agua. (The glass is full of water.)
- El vaso está lleno de zumo. (The glass is full of juice.)
Without de, you simply state it’s full, and the context must tell you of what.
How would you say “The glass is empty” or “The glass is half full”?
- “The glass is empty” → El vaso está vacío. (Here vacío is the opposite of lleno.)
- “The glass is half full” → El vaso está medio lleno. or El vaso está a medio llenar.
What’s the difference between vaso, copa, and taza?
- Vaso: a glass (usually for water, soft drinks).
- Copa: a stemmed glass (for wine or champagne).
- Taza: a cup (for hot drinks like coffee or tea).
Use the word that matches the container you have in mind.