Learn Italian: Noi siamo occupati e l'ufficio è molto pieno. - We are busy, and the office is very full.

Ufficio is a masculine singular noun that starts with a vowel. In Italian, you use l' (which is a shortened form of the article lo) before singular nouns that start with a vowel. This makes the words flow together smoothly, similar to how we say 'an apple' instead of 'a apple' in English.

This sentence uses both e and è. What is the difference?

The word e without an accent means 'and', while è with a grave accent means 'is' (the he/she/it form of the verb essere, to be). The accent is mandatory when writing because it completely changes the word's meaning!

Why does occupati end in an -i?

Adjectives in Italian must match the noun or pronoun they describe. Because Noi (we) is plural, the base adjective occupato (busy) changes its ending to the masculine plural form, occupati.

Why does pieno end in an -o instead of matching the plural -i from the first half of the sentence?