Learn Italian: Dottoressa, Lei è sempre molto occupata?

Dottoressa, Lei è sempre molto occupata?

Doctor, are you always very busy?

Breakdown of Dottoressa, Lei è sempre molto occupata?

Questions & Answers about Dottoressa, Lei è sempre molto occupata?

Doesn't lei mean "she"? Why does it mean "you" here, and why is it capitalized?

In Italian, the formal way to say "you" is Lei. It is often capitalized in writing to distinguish it from lei (she). You use Lei when speaking to someone you don't know well, someone older, or in a professional setting, like talking to a doctor.

If Lei means "you", why is the verb è instead of sei?

The formal Lei always takes the third-person singular form of the verb, which is the exact same form used for "he" or "she". That's why we say Lei è (formal "you are") instead of the informal tu sei.

Does occupata end in -a because the word Lei is feminine?

No, it ends in -a because the actual person being spoken to is female (a Dottoressa). When you use the formal Lei with a man, the adjective still takes the masculine ending. If you were asking a male doctor, you would say: Dottore, Lei è molto occupato?

Why doesn't molto change to molta to match the feminine occupata?