The Verb ‘Piacere’ in Italian: A Simple Guide

Mi piace or non piace are verbs Italians use all the time. 

• Ti piacciono quelle scarpe? – Do you like those shoes? 
• Non ci è piaciuto quel film – We didn’t like that movie
• Ti piace la cucina italiana? – Do you like Italian food?

As you might already know, piacere (and a few other verbs that I will list at the end of this post) doesn’t follow a regular conjugation pattern, and it’s used differently from its equivalent in English – I like. 

In fact, the Italian translation for I LIKE, is not io piaccio, but mi piace or mi piacciono. 

How to conjugate ‘piacere’? 

Piacere is conjugated only with the 3rd person singular and plural. The person who likes something (or someone) is denoted by an indirect object pronoun (mi, ti, gli/le, ci, vi, gli) and not by the regular subject pronouns (io, tu, lui, etc.).

So the conjugation of piacere looks like this:

Piacere in the present tense 

What is the difference between piace and piacciono?

Piace is used when the thing or person we like is a singular entity or an action (an infinitive verb).

Examples:

• Mi piace Marco – I like Marco
• Gli piace la pasta – He likes pasta 
• Ti piace questo dolce? – Do you like this dessert?
• Ci piace passeggiare nei boschi – We like to walk in the woods

Piacciono is used when the thing or person we like is a plural entity

• Ti piacciono questi fiori? – Do you like these flowers?
• Non ci piacciono questi mobili – We don’t like this furniture 

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Italian vs. English

The equivalent in English mi piace in Italian, is ‘something’ is pleasant for me/to you/to him, etc…

So, saying ‘mi piace la cucina indiana’ is literally translated as ‘Indian food is pleasurable for me.’ The verb ‘piacere’ is used only in this way.

When ‘piacere’ is followed by a verb, like ‘I like cooking,’ the verb that follows ‘mi piace’ always appears in the infinitive form.

What do we say ‘A qualcuno piace…’

Why do you use ‘A’ before piacere, sometimes?

When the people who like something are explicitly mentioned, the noun must be preceded by the preposition ‘a’:

Piacere with the passato prossimo (I liked, I enjoyed)

Just like in the present tense, piacere follows a different conjugation pattern with the passato prossimo (past tense).

As you can see from the list above, the past tense combines three elements: 

the indirect pronouns + the auxiliary essere + the past participle (piaciuto/a/i/e).

What’s the difference between:

• mi è piaciuto il film – I liked the film
• mi sono piaciuti i negozi – I liked the shops

In the first sentence, the object that is “pleasurable” is a singular entity (un film/a movie), whereas in the second sentence, the thing that is “pleasurable” is a plural entity (i negozi/the shops)

The auxiliary and the past participles always agree with the gender and number of the thing that is pleasant. So, if the entity being liked (the object) is a feminine noun, you will need to make sure that the participle is in agreement with the subject, for example

Mi è piaciuta la pasta → I liked the pasta

Mi sono piaciute le tue lezioni → I liked your your classes 

It’s important to note that you always need to use piacere always in the 3rd person singular or plural, no matter what tenses are being used.

Piacere with the imperfetto (I used to like)

Example: 

• Quando ero piccola mi piaceva passare le vacanze dai miei nonni – When I was little I liked to spend my vacations at my grandparents.

Piacere in the future tense (I will like)

Example:

• Domani inizio un nuovo lavoro, ma non so se mi piacerà – Tomorrow I’ll start a new job, but I don’t know if I’ll like it 

Piacere with the present conditional (I would like, I would love)

Example:

• Mi piacerebbe comprare una casa a Capri – I’d like to buy a house in Capri
• Non ti piacerebbe venire con noi domani? – Wouldn’t you like to join us tomorrow?

Piacere in the present subjunctive (I like)

Example:

• Spero che ti piaccia – I hope you like it 
• Speriamo che gli piaccia – We hope they like it

Other verbs similar to piacere

Piacere is not the only verb that uses a different conjugation (also known as impersonal conjugation). The verbs shown below are used and conjugated, just like piacere.

My advice is first to learn how to use piacere, and then to apply the very same pattern to the other verbs

• Servire – to need (something)
• Bastare – to be enough
• Mancare – to miss 
• Interessare – to be interested