El vaso está vacío.

The glass is empty.

Breakdown of El vaso está vacío.

• estar: to be
• el vaso: the glass
• vacío: empty

Questions & Answers about El vaso está vacío.

Why is it está and not es?

Because estar is used for states/conditions that can change (open/closed, full/empty, clean/dirty). El vaso está vacío describes the current state. Using ser here (El vaso es vacío) sounds wrong in everyday Spanish; it would imply an inherent quality, which doesn’t fit for a glass being empty.

What exactly does vaso mean in Spain? Is it the same as “cup” or “wine glass”?

In Spain:

• vaso = a tumbler (straight-sided drinking glass, often for water/soft drinks)
• copa = a stemmed glass (e.g., wine glass: copa de vino)
• taza = a cup/mug for hot drinks (coffee/tea) So a native would not call a wine glass a vaso; that’s a copa.

Why is it el vaso (masculine)? Does vacío agree with it?

Vaso is a masculine noun (it ends in -o, and its article is el). Adjectives must agree, so you use the masculine singular vacío. Plural: los vasos están vacíos.

How would it change with a feminine noun like taza?