How to Use Piacere in Italian

Hello! Welcome to a new article all about Italian!

Have you ever wondered: “Should I say ‘mi piace’ or ‘io piace’? Why don’t we say ‘io piaccio’?”

The verb piacere works differently from most Italian verbs, and it can be a bit confusing at first. But don’t worry! In this lesson, I’ll explain everything you need to know to use it confidently.

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The BASIC Structure of “piacere”

Look at these sentences:

• Mi piace il cinema.
• Mi piacciono i film.

We use mi piace when the noun after is singular, like il cinema (the cinema). Another example:

• Mi piace il libro di Calvino. (I like Calvino’s book)

We use mi piacciono when the noun is plural, like i film (the movies):

• Mi piacciono i libri italiani. (I like Italian books)

Mi piace can also be followed by a verb in the infinitive:

• Mi piace viaggiare. (I like to travel)
• Mi piace imparare l’italiano. (I like learning Italian)

In these cases, piace stays singular.

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Indirect Object Pronouns with Piacere

The verb piacere uses indirect object pronouns to show to whom something is pleasing:

Pronoun	Meaning
mi	to me
ti	to you (sing.)
gli	to him
le	to her / You (formal)
ci	to us
vi	to you (pl.)
gli	to them

Examples:

• Ti piace questa canzone? (Do you like this song?)
• Ci piace il ristorante nuovo. (We like the new restaurant.)
• Gli piace andare in montagna. (He likes going to the mountains.)

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Who is the Subject in These Sentences?

This is the most interesting (and often confusing) part!

Take the sentence:

• Mi piace la pizza.

It seems like the subject is I (io), but actually the subject is la pizza.

We can rewrite the sentence as:

• La pizza piace a me. (The pizza pleases me.)

In Italian, with the verb piacere, the subject is the thing that is liked, not the person who likes it.

The person is expressed with an indirect object (a me, a te, a lui…) through the pronouns: mi, ti, gli, le, ci, vi, gli.

Another example:

• I libri mi piacciono. (I like the books.)

Here the subject is i libri (books), so the verb is in the third person plural: piacciono.

Ask yourself: To whom are the books pleasing?

Answer: To me, so we use the indirect pronoun mi.

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The Structure to Remember

A + PERSON (indirect object) + verb piacere + SUBJECT (the thing that is liked).

More examples:

• Ti piace il caffè italiano? (Do you like Italian coffee?)
• Ci piacciono le montagne! (We like the mountains!)
• Vi piace leggere? (Do you like reading?)

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When the Thing That Is Liked Is a PERSON

Now let’s see when one person likes another person. In this case, we use all forms of the verb piacere, not just piace or piacciono.

Here is the present tense conjugation:

Person	Conjugation of piacere
Io	piaccio
Tu	piaci
Lui/Lei	piace
Noi	piacciamo
Voi	piacete
Loro	piacciono

Examples:

• A Marco piace Anna. (Marco likes Anna.)(Anna = subject, third person singular; Marco = indirect object)
• Io piaccio a Francesca. (Francesca likes me.)(Io = subject; Francesca = indirect object)
• Tu piaci a Carla. (Carla likes you.)
• Non piacciamo ai tuoi amici. (Your friends don’t like us.)
• Pensi che gli piaccio? (Do you think he likes me?)
• Voi piacete molto al professore. (The teacher likes you very much.)

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Piacere in the Past Tense (Passato Prossimo)

How do we use piacere in the past?

We use the auxiliary ESSERE and the past participle agrees with the subject (the thing that was liked).

Examples:

• Mi è piaciuta la festa ieri! (I liked the party yesterday!)
• Ti sono piaciuti i regali? (Did you like the presents?)
• Gli sono piaciuti i film italiani. (He liked the Italian movies.)
• (Feminine) Sono piaciuta ai tuoi genitori. (Your parents liked me.)

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Piacere in the Conditional

We use the conditional to express a polite desire or preference:

• Mi piacerebbe imparare a suonare il pianoforte. (I would like to learn to play the piano.)
• Ci piacerebbe visitare Venezia. (We would like to visit Venice.)

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Conclusion

Now you have all the tools to use the verb piacere correctly! Remember:

• The subject is always the thing that is liked,
• The person who likes it is expressed as an indirect object pronoun (mi, ti, gli, etc.),
• When the thing that is liked is a person, use the full conjugation of piacere.

If you want to practice more and do exercises, join my Italian courses in my online school!

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