"Sie" vs "sie"

[jazzrobot]

It is my understanding that "sie" (lowercase) is used for the english "her" and "they", while "Sie" (uppercase) is used for the english "you" (formal and singular). In one of the lessons I was given a multiple choice question; in the correct answer of which a "sie" corresponded with a "you". To my thinking this would only be correct if the "sie" were capitalized. Is the distinction between lowercase and uppercase necessary or am I mistaken?

[dmcdouga]

You are exactly correct, there is a distinction. Germans also capitalize letters at the start of sentences though, so a sentence like "Sie essen Brot." can be ambiguous without other context.

[Sunce]

The distinction is necessary as you supposed.
"sie" is she (nominative and accusative) and they (nom and acc)
and capitalized is You - formal

You need to watch the verb form to be sure which it is if Sie is at the beginning of the sentence, and in such case always capitalizes

like:
Sie trinkt - she drinks
Sie trinken - they/You drink

hope this helps :)