Learn Italian: Siete liberi o occupati?

Siete liberi o occupati?

Are you free or busy?

Breakdown of Siete liberi o occupati?

Questions & Answers about Siete liberi o occupati?

Where is the word for 'you' in this sentence?

In Italian, you often drop the subject pronoun because the verb tells you who is doing the action. The verb siete already means 'you (plural) are', so the pronoun voi is not needed.

Is this asking one person or multiple people?

Multiple people. Siete is the plural 'you' form (like 'you all' or 'you guys') of the verb essere (to be). If you were asking just one person, you would use sei.

Why do liberi and occupati end in -i?

Because they describe a plural 'you'. In Italian, adjectives match the people they describe. The -i ending is used for a masculine plural, which means the group you are talking to is either all men, or a mix of men and women.

How would this change if I was asking a group of only women?

The verb siete would stay the same, but the adjectives would take the feminine plural ending -e. You would ask: Siete libere o occupate?