Is the formal form of you not the same as 2nd person plural in Italian?
The reason I ask is that the grammar books show the '-are' verbs ending in '-ate' for 2nd person plural but the formal form for you seems to end in ' -a' as in 'Parla inglese?'
Similarly with avere - the books show 'avete' but the formal You have is 'Ha' as in 'Ha una camera'?
How do you ask 'What is your name' in the polite/formal form? Is it 'Come Lei chiama'?
conjugation of avere and regular '-are' verbs

Alice-G
July 3, 2012

Alice-G
July 9, 2012
Mi scusi. I have found the answer in another grammar book. Lei is used with 3rd person singular ending.

Maria-DiLorenzi
July 9, 2012
hi Alice,
it's correct.
Please note that the pronoun "voi" was used as formal form many years ago especially when a young person was speaking to an aged person.
In some part of Italy it may be still used.
Ciao