Italian conjugation explanation

The verb 'Piacere'

<p>The Italian verb

<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext verb_link" href="/study/conjugations/ita/piacere/" title="Click to see conjugations for piacere" target="_blank">piacere</a>

<p>Literally, <span style="font-style: italic;">piacere</span> means "<strong>to be pleasing to</strong>".</p>

<ul>

<li>The <strong>subject</strong> is the thing being liked.</li>

<li>The verb must agree with this subject (singular or plural).</li>

<li>The person who likes the thing is expressed as an <strong>indirect object</strong> (using pronouns like <span style="font-style: italic;">mi, ti, gli, le, ci, vi, gli</span>).</li>

</ul>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_title">Singular vs. Plural Subjects</div>

<p>Because the agreement depends on the thing being liked, you will typically use only the third-person forms of the

<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext" href="/study/tenseGuideForTense/36/" target="_blank">Present Indicative</a>

<ul>

<li>

<div><strong>Piace (S/3):</strong> Used when the subject is a <strong>singular noun</strong> or a <strong>verb</strong> (infinitive).</div>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence"><span class="brown_emphasis">Mi</span> <span class="green_emphasis">piace</span> la tua macchina. (<span style="font-style: italic;">I like your car. / Your car is pleasing to me.</span>)</div>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence"><span class="brown_emphasis">Ci</span> <span class="green_emphasis">piace</span> ballare. (<span style="font-style: italic;">We like dancing. / Dancing is pleasing to us.</span>)</div>

</li>

<li>

<div><strong>Piacciono (P/3):</strong> Used when the subject is a <strong>plural noun</strong>.</div>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence"><span class="brown_emphasis">Ti</span> <span class="green_emphasis">piacciono</span> i film horror? (<span style="font-style: italic;">Do you like horror movies? / Are horror movies pleasing to you?</span>)</div>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence"><span class="brown_emphasis">Gli</span> <span class="green_emphasis">piacciono</span> gli spaghetti. (<span style="font-style: italic;">He likes spaghetti. / Spaghetti is pleasing to him.</span>)</div>

</li>

</ul>

<p>In the conjugation table below, notice how the S/3 and P/3 forms are highlighted. While <span style="font-style: italic;">piacere</span> can technically be conjugated in all persons (e.g., "I like you" = <span style="font-style: italic;">Tu mi piaci</span>), these are the most common forms you will need for general statements:</p>

<div class="study_conjugations_tense_container">

<a class="study_conjugations_tense_label box_label tense_box no_dark_mode " href="/study/tenseGuideForTense/36/" target="_blank" title="Open tense guide">Presente</a>

<div class="study_conjugations_conjugation conjugations_table two_columns">

<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">

<div class="conjugation_form">

<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">

io

</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">piaccio<span class="irregularity_circle">&#9679;</span></span></span>

</div>

</div>

<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">

<div class="conjugation_form">

<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">

tu

</span>piaci

</span>

</div>

</div>

<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms highlighted_conjugation">

<div class="conjugation_form">

<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">

lui

</span>piace

</span>

</div>

</div>

<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">

<div class="conjugation_form">

<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">

noi

</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">piacciamo<span class="irregularity_circle">&#9679;</span></span></span>

</div>

</div>

<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">

<div class="conjugation_form">

<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">

voi

</span>piacete

</span>

</div>

</div>

<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms highlighted_conjugation">

<div class="conjugation_form">

<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">

loro

</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">piacciono<span class="irregularity_circle">&#9679;</span></span></span>

</div>

</div>

</div>

</div>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_title">Common Mistake: "Io piaccio"</div>

<p>Learners often try to translate word-for-word from English, treating the speaker as the subject. This results in using the S/1 form (<span style="font-style: italic;">io piaccio</span>), which actually means "I am pleasing" or "People like me".</p>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence"><span class="red_emphasis">Io piaccio</span> la pizza. (<strong>Incorrect</strong>)</div>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence"><span class="green_emphasis">Mi piace</span> la pizza. (<strong>Correct</strong>: <span style="font-style: italic;">I like pizza.</span>)</div>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_title">Other Verbs Following This Pattern</div>

<p>Many other useful Italian verbs follow this exact same "reverse" construction. The English direct object becomes the subject, and the English subject becomes the indirect object.</p>

<ul>

<li>

<div>

<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext verb_link" href="/study/conjugations/ita/mancare/" title="Click to see conjugations for mancare" target="_blank">mancare</a>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence"><span class="brown_emphasis">Mi</span> <span class="green_emphasis">manca</span> il mio cane. (<span style="font-style: italic;">I miss my dog.</span>)</div>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence"><span class="brown_emphasis">Non le</span> <span class="green_emphasis">mancano</span> i soldi. (<span style="font-style: italic;">She doesn't lack money.</span>)</div>

</li>

<li>

<div>

<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext verb_link" href="/study/conjugations/ita/servire/" title="Click to see conjugations for servire" target="_blank">servire</a>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence"><span class="brown_emphasis">Ti</span> <span class="green_emphasis">serve</span> una mano? (<span style="font-style: italic;">Do you need a hand?</span>)</div>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence"><span class="brown_emphasis">Mi</span> <span class="green_emphasis">servono</span> due uova. (<span style="font-style: italic;">I need two eggs.</span>)</div>

</li>

<li>

<div>

<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext verb_link" href="/study/conjugations/ita/interessare/" title="Click to see conjugations for interessare" target="_blank">interessare</a>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence"><span class="brown_emphasis">Gli</span> <span class="green_emphasis">interessa</span> la storia. (<span style="font-style: italic;">He is interested in history.</span>)</div>

</li>

<li>

<div>

<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext verb_link" href="/study/conjugations/ita/bastare/" title="Click to see conjugations for bastare" target="_blank">bastare</a>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence"><span class="brown_emphasis">Mi</span> <span class="green_emphasis">basta</span> un panino. (<span style="font-style: italic;">A sandwich is enough for me.</span>)</div>

</li>

<li>

<div>

<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext verb_link" href="/study/conjugations/ita/dispiacere/" title="Click to see conjugations for dispiacere" target="_blank">dispiacere</a>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence"><span class="brown_emphasis">Mi</span> <span class="green_emphasis">dispiace</span> deluderti. (<span style="font-style: italic;">I'm sorry to disappoint you.</span>)</div>

</li>

</ul>