Piacere & Like Verbs

Read this page, then try this practice.

Piacere means to like. It is one of the most common verbs in Italian. It is also a difficult verb for English speakers because of its grammar, specifically the relationship between the subject and object of the verb.

Quick reminder about subjects and objects: in Italian (just like in English) the subject (or the person carrying out the action) determines the verb form (or ending). Thus, I  play is gioco,  you speak is parli,  we put is mettiamo  and  they sleep is dormono.

Most sentences consist of more than just a subject and a verb. They may contain an object of the verb as well (something produced  by the agent’s activity or acted upon by the verb).  E.g.  I play tennis;  You speak Italian to our grandparents;  We put the book on the table.  These objects are called direct and indirect objects.

(For a discussion of the distinction between direct and indirect objects check out this page).

Back to piacere.   With this verb, the subject / object relationship is reversed with respect to English.  In English, we say:  I like the book.  I is the subject and book is the object.  In the Italian sentence  Mi piace il libro,  mi is the object (an indirect object), and  il libro  –  the thing liked –  is the  subject.

Compare the English and Italian in the examples below.

Example	Explanation
I like your shoes.	I   is the subject, the verb like agrees with the subject, and  your shoes is the object.
Mi piacciono le tue scarpe.	Le tue scarpe  is the subject, the verb piacciono agrees with the subject, and  mi is the indirect object.

You can try rewording the English sentence to: Your shoes  please me  or  Your shoes are pleasing to me.

Other examples:

Example	Translation	Explanation
Mi piace il gelato.	I like ice cream.	The subject is il gelato,  thus the lui/lei form of the verb.
Non mi piacciono gli spinaci.	I don’t like spinach.	Because the subject (gli spinaci) is plural, the verb is in its loro form.
Ai miei genitori piace il golf.	My parents like golf.	Il golf is the subject, hence the singular form of piacere, piace.  Because i miei genitori is an indirect object, it must have an a in front of it.
A mia sorella piace viaggiare.	My sister likes to travel.	In this case, a verb, viaggiare is the subject. Piace (the lui/lei form) is used with all verbs, including multiple verbs, like  viaggiare  e  lavorare.

✽ Generally with piacere you only need to worry about the lui/lei or loro forms of the verb.

PIACERE   ACROSS   TENSES

If you can use piacere in the present, you can use it in any tense. You just have to keep the same logic in mind in regards to the relationship between subject and object, and the agreement between subject and verb.

Example	Translation	Verb Tense
Da bambino mi piacevano molto i dolci.	As a kid, I liked sweets a lot.	Imperfetto
Domani vi farò vedere le mie foto. Vi piaceranno specialmente quelle degli animali.	Tomorrow I’ll show you my pictures. You’ll especially like the ones of animals.	Futuro
Ti piacerebbe andare in piscina?	Would you like to go to the pool?	Condizionale

✽ When using piacere in the passato prossimo,  you must always use essere as your auxiliary verb.  This  requires that the ending of the past participle  always agrees with the subject.

Example	Translation	Agreement
Non mi è piaciuta la festa di ieri.	I didn’t like yesterday’s party.	è piaciuta agrees with la festa.
A Simona sono piaciuti molto i fiori.	Simona really liked the flowers.	sono piaciuti agrees with i fiori.
Al mio amico è piaciuto frequentare la conferenza.	My friend liked attending the lecture.	è piaciuto agrees with frequentare

✽ Infinitives, like frequentare (above) are always considered masculine.

OTHER VERBS LIKE PIACERE

In the chart you will find a short list of other verbs that work just like piacere. They are very common too, and familiarizing yourself with them will help you become more fluent in Italian:

Verb	Example	Translation
interessare to interest	I tuoi problemi non mi interessano.	Your problems don’t interest me.
interessare to interest	A Claudia interessa molto la storia dell’arte.	Claudia is very interested in art history.
mancare to miss	Mi mancano i miei genitori.	I miss my parents.
mancare to miss	Ti sono mancato?	Did you miss me?
bastare to be  enough	Ti basta una fetta di pizza?	Is one slice of pizza enough for you?
bastare to be enough	Quattro corsi al semestre mi bastano!	Four courses a semester are enough for me!
servire to need, to be of use	Vi serve un passaggio?	Can you all use a ride?
servire to need, to be of use	Questi libri non mi servono più.	I’m done with these books. (I’m not using them any more.)
restare to be left, to remain	Ho ricevuto 100 dollari da mia nonna e me ne restano solo 10.	I got 100 dollars from my grandmother and I’ve only got 10 left.
restare to be left, to remain	Ti resta molto tempo prima degli esami?	Do you have much time left before the exams?
occorrere to be necessary	Ci occorre più tempo per prepararci per l’esame.	We need more time to prepare for the exam.
occorrere to be necessary	Mi occorrono altre tre ore per finire il lavoro.	I need three more hours to finish the job.

Piacere & Like Verbs: Practice