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In Italian, when speaking to strangers, professionals, elders, or anyone in a formal setting, you do not use the casual *tu*. Instead, you use the formal register, known as *dare del Lei*. This shows respect and creates polite, professional distance.

### Titles and Greetings

Polite interactions often start with a respectful greeting like *buongiorno* alongside a formal title, such as *signore* (sir/Mr.) or *signora* (madam/Mrs.).

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### The Formal "You" (Lei)

To say "you" formally, use the pronoun **Lei**. It is frequently capitalized in writing to distinguish it from the identical word *lei* (meaning "she"). 

Because *Lei* is grammatically a third-person pronoun, it requires **third-person singular verb forms**. This means you will use verbs like *è* (is/are) and *ha* (has/have) instead of the *tu* forms. 

To say "excuse me" formally to get someone's attention, use **scusi**.

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### Professional Titles

In Italy, professional titles are used heavily in everyday life. Anyone who has graduated from a university is commonly addressed as **dottore** (male) or **dottoressa** (female), even if they are not a medical doctor.

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### The Formal Possessive (Suo / Sua)

Just as "you" shifts to the third-person *Lei*, saying "your" in formal Italian requires the third-person possessive adjectives: **Suo**, **Sua**, **Suoi**, or **Sue** (which normally mean his/hers/its). Like *Lei*, these are often capitalized to indicate formal address.

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### Polite Responses

When someone says *grazie* (thank you), the standard and polite way to reply "you're welcome" is **prego**. *Prego* can also be used to mean "please" when inviting someone to do something, like offering them a seat or holding a door open.

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Formal address (dare del Lei)

adjective

adjective/adverb

adverb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

preposition

pronoun

proper noun

sentence

verb

Subject pronouns and the verb to be (io sono)

Singular definite articles (il, la)

Singular demonstratives (questo, questa)

Basic verbal negation (non)

Yes/No questions

Coordinating conjunctions (e, ma, o)

Regular plurals and definite articles (-i, -e, i, le)

Plural verb to be (noi siamo, voi siete)

Plural demonstratives (questi, queste)

Nouns ending in -e

Special singular articles (lo, l')

The plural article (gli)

Special indefinite articles (uno, un')

Demonstrative adjectives (quello, quella)

Adjective endings (-o, -a, -i, -e)

Expressing quantity (molto, poco, tanto)

The verb to have (ho, hai, ha...)

There is / there are (c'è, ci sono)

The preposition of (di)

Singular possessives (il mio, la mia)

Numbers 1 to 10 (uno, due, tre...)

Numbers 11 to 20 (undici, dodici...)

Numbers 21 to 100 (trenta, quaranta...)

Idiomatic avere (avere fame, avere anni)

Plural possessive adjectives (i miei, le mie)

Possessives with family members (mio padre)

Present tense of -are verbs (-o, -i, -a)

Question words (chi, cosa, dove)

Present tense of -ere verbs (-o, -i, -e)

Question words (quando, come, perché)

Question word agreement (quanto, quanta, quanti, quante)

Regular -ire verbs

Verbs with -isc- (capisco, capisci, capisce)

Pronouns after prepositions (me, te, lui)

The verb fare (faccio, fai, fa)

The verb andare (vado, vai, va)

The verb stare (sto, stai, sta)

The verb venire (vengo, vieni, viene)

The verb uscire (esco, esci, esce)

Location and destination (a, in)

Origin and movement (da)

Articulated prepositions with a (al, alla)

Articulated prepositions with in (nel, nella)

Articulated prepositions with di and da (del, dal)

Simple prepositions (con, per, su, tra)

Articulated prepositions with su (sul, sulla)

Months of the year

Telling time (sono le...)

Dates (il + number)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 10th (primo, secondo, terzo...)

The verb to want (volere)

The verb can (potere)

The verb must (dovere)

The verb to know (sapere)

Reflexive verbs (mi lavo, ti lavi)

Indirect object pronouns (gli, le, ci...)

Expressing preferences (mi piace)

Plural preferences (mi piacciono)

Comparatives (più... di, meno... di)

The passato prossimo with avere (ho parlato)

Irregular past participles (fatto, letto, preso)

The passato prossimo with essere (sono andato)

Reflexive verbs in the past (mi sono svegliato)

Time adverbs with the past tense (già, mai, ancora)

Third-person direct object pronouns (lo, la, li, le)

First and second-person direct object pronouns (mi, ti, ci, vi)

The four seasons

Prepositions of place (vicino a, davanti a)

Conversational words (beh, allora, davvero)

Indefinite adjectives for some (qualche, alcuni)

Indefinite adjectives for every and all (ogni, tutti)

Indefinite pronouns (qualcosa, qualcuno)

Noun suffixes (-ino, -one)

Adverbs of manner (-mente)

Comparisons of equality (così... come)

The relative superlative (il più)

The absolute superlative (-issimo)

Irregular comparatives (migliore, peggiore)

Present progressive (stare + -ando, -endo)

Imminent actions (stare per)

The locative pronoun (ci)

The partitive pronoun (ne)

Pronoun placement with modal verbs

Impersonal subjects (si)

Prepositions of time (da, per, tra, fra)

Past participle agreement with pronouns

Past tense of modal verbs

Question	Answer
good morning	buongiorno
gentleman, sir, Mr.	il signore
Good morning, sir.	Buongiorno, signore.
lady, madam, Mrs.	la signora
Good morning, madam.	Buongiorno, signora.
excuse me (formal)	scusi
you (formal)	Lei
Excuse me, are you Italian?	Scusi, Lei è italiano?
Are you American or English?	Lei è americano o inglese?
doctor (male)	il dottore
Doctor, do you have my document?	Dottore, Lei ha il mio documento?
doctor (female)	la dottoressa
Good morning, doctor, where is your office?	Buongiorno, dottoressa, dov'è il Suo ufficio?
Excuse me, Mrs. Anna, do you have a problem?	Scusi, signora Anna, Lei ha un problema?
help	l'aiuto
The lady needs help.	La signora ha bisogno di aiuto.
thank you	grazie
You are very kind, thank you.	Lei è molto gentile, grazie.
you're welcome, please	prego
You're welcome, sir.	Prego, signore.
Excuse me, is there a free seat here?	Scusi, c'è un posto libero qui?
Your help is very important, thank you.	Il Suo aiuto è molto importante, grazie.
Doctor, are you always very busy?	Dottoressa, Lei è sempre molto occupata?
Please, the office is open.	Prego, l'ufficio è aperto.
Doctor, your luggage is heavy.	Dottore, il Suo bagaglio è pesante.
please (asking for something)	per favore
Excuse me, the water, please.	Scusi, l'acqua, per favore.
The food, please.	Il cibo, per favore.
excuse me (squeezing past)	permesso
The train is full. Excuse me, coming through, thank you!	Il treno è pieno. Permesso, grazie!
"Excuse me, madam!" "Go ahead!"	Permesso, signora! Prego!
young lady, miss	la signorina
"Good morning, miss!" "Good morning, doctor!"	Buongiorno, signorina! Buongiorno, dottore!
The young lady is very kind.	La signorina è molto gentile.

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