1.13.1: Il verbo "piacere"

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The verb to like

The verb piacere is analogous to the verb to like in English, but it really means to be pleasing.

In English one says: I like risotto. In Italian one says: Mi piace il risotto, which literally means Risotto is pleasing to me. It is a different way of expressing the same idea.

The two most common forms of the verb piacere in the present tense are piace and piacciono.

piace + singular noun	Mi piace la pasta.
piace+ one or more infinitives	Mi piace mangiare bene.
piacciono + plural noun	Mi piacciono le linguine.

When using the verb piacere, you must use the following pronouns to express the person(s) to whom a thing is pleasing:

mi or a me = to me	ci or a noi = to us
ti or a te = to you (informal)	vi or a voi = to you (plural)
gli or a lui = to him	gli or a loro = to them
le or a lei = to her
Le or a Lei = to you (formal)

When using the name of the person, you must use a + person’s name, i.e. A Paolo piace la carne [Paolo likes meat]. Later in the course we will also learn to express more complex ideas such as My parents like…

Unlike in English, you must use definite articles when speaking of things you like or don’t like, i.e. Mi piace la pasta [I like pasta] or Ti piace il caffè? [Do you like coffee?]

To make a negative statement, simply place non before the pronoun, i.e. Non mi piace la carne or Non ci piacciono le linguine. BUT: A me non piace la carne and A noi non piacciono le linguine.

To say “I like it,” you simply say Mi piace. To say “I like them,” you simply say Mi piacciono.