El bolsillo izquierdo está vacío.

The left pocket is empty.

Breakdown of El bolsillo izquierdo está vacío.

• estar: to be
• el bolsillo: the pocket
• vacío: empty
• izquierdo: left

Questions & Answers about El bolsillo izquierdo está vacío.

Why is está used instead of es?

Use estar for states or conditions that can change. A pocket being empty is a temporary condition, so está vacío is the natural choice. With containers, Spanish almost always uses estar for adjectives like vacío/lleno:

• La botella está vacía.
• El cajón está lleno.

Using ser here (es vacío) would sound odd or philosophical (like “is inherently empty”), which is not what you mean.

Why do both adjectives end in -o: izquierdo, vacío?

They agree with the gender and number of bolsillo, which is masculine singular. If the noun were feminine singular, both adjectives would be feminine singular:

• La mano izquierda está vacía.

Why does izquierdo come after bolsillo?

Most descriptive adjectives (colors, shapes, nationalities, and left/right: izquierdo/derecho) follow the noun: el bolsillo izquierdo.
The adjective vacío is in the predicate after the verb (está vacío), which is where predicate adjectives go.

Can I say El bolsillo de la izquierda instead of El bolsillo izquierdo?

Yes. Both are natural, with a tiny nuance:

• El bolsillo izquierdo treats “left” as an inherent label of that pocket.
• El bolsillo de la izquierda means “the pocket on the left (side).” In everyday speech they’re interchangeable. Don’t say El bolsillo a la izquierda (alone) before a noun; use de la izquierda or a relative clause: El bolsillo que está a la izquierda.

What’s the difference between bolsillo, bolso, bolsa, and cartera in Spain?

• bolsillo: pocket (in clothes)
• bolso: handbag/purse
• bolsa: bag (shopping/plastic bag), also “stock market” (la Bolsa)
• cartera: wallet (in Spain); in many Latin American countries, cartera can mean handbag, and wallet is often billetera

Why does vacío have an accent?

The accent on í breaks a diphthong and marks the stress: va-CÍ-o (three syllables). Without the accent it would be pronounced as two syllables (incorrect here). Note:

• vacío can be an adjective (“empty”) or a noun (“vacuum/emptiness”).
• It’s also a verb form: yo vacío (“I empty”). Context tells them apart.
• Preterite: él/ella vació (“he/she emptied”) with accent on -ó.

Why does está have an accent? How is it different from esta?

• está (with accent) = “is” (3rd person singular of estar).
• esta (no accent) = “this” (feminine demonstrative determiner), as in esta chaqueta.
  The accent distinguishes the verb from the determiner.

How do I pronounce the whole sentence in Spain?

Approximate: “el bol-SEE-yo eeth-KYER-do es-TAH ba-THEE-o.”

• In most of Spain, z and c before i/e sound like English “th” in “thin”: iz-, -cí- → “eeth-”, “-THEE-”.
• ll in bolsillo is usually like English “y” (many speakers don’t distinguish ll and y).

How do I make it plural?

Make everything agree:

• Los bolsillos izquierdos están vacíos.
  Use this if you’re talking about multiple left pockets (e.g., across several garments). If you mean both pockets on one garment, you’d say:
• Los bolsillos están vacíos. (both pockets are empty)
• El bolsillo derecho/izquierdo está vacío. (right/left pocket)

What’s the opposite of izquierdo and of vacío?

• Opposite of izquierdo is derecho: El bolsillo derecho.
• Opposite of vacío is lleno: El bolsillo izquierdo está lleno.

Can I drop the article El, or should I say mi?

You normally keep the article: El bolsillo izquierdo está vacío.
To be explicit about possession, say Mi bolsillo izquierdo está vacío.
Spanish often uses the definite article where English uses a possessive, when context makes possession obvious (e.g., talking about your own clothes).

Are there natural alternatives to está vacío?

Yes:

• No hay nada en el bolsillo izquierdo. (There’s nothing in the left pocket.)
• El bolsillo izquierdo no tiene nada. More formal: El bolsillo izquierdo se encuentra vacío.
  Colloquial when speaking about money: Tengo los bolsillos vacíos. (I’m broke.)