Learn Italian: Il medico ha sonno, ma ha molto lavoro. - The doctor is sleepy, but he has a lot of work.

Il medico ha sonno, ma ha molto lavoro.

The doctor is sleepy, but he has a lot of work.

Breakdown of Il medico ha sonno, ma ha molto lavoro.

Questions & Answers about Il medico ha sonno, ma ha molto lavoro.

Why does the sentence use ha (has) for 'is sleepy'?

In Italian, many physical feelings use the verb avere (to have) instead of essere (to be). Instead of saying someone 'is sleepy', Italians say they 'have sleep' (ha sonno). You will also see this with hunger (avere fame) and thirst (avere sete).

Does sonno actually mean 'sleepy'?

Not exactly. Sonno is a noun that means 'sleep' or 'sleepiness'. That is why it must be paired with avere (to have). If you try to use it with essere (è sonno), you are literally saying 'The doctor is sleep', which does not make sense!

The verb ha is used twice in this sentence. Are they both used the same way?

They are the exact same verb form (ha = he/she/it has), but they are doing slightly different jobs. The first one is part of the idiom ha sonno (is sleepy), while the second one is the literal meaning of the verb: ha molto lavoro (he literally has a lot of work).

Why is it molto lavoro and not molti lavoro?

Molto (a lot / much) changes its ending to match the noun it describes. Because lavoro (work) is a masculine singular noun here, molto stays in its masculine singular form. You would use molti (many) for plural nouns.