Use (il, lo, l’, gli, i, le(the)) when you talk about things you like or don’t like, as in:
Mi piacciono le fragole.
I like strawberries.
How to use ‘mi piace’ and similar expressions in Italian?
By: Silvia Giorgini Althoen Fri Sep 19 2025
ItalianVerbs
In Italian, we use the expression mi piace to say “I like,” but the expression literally means “(something) is pleasing to me!” The piacere is very common in Italian and is part of the best conversation starter on earth: Cosa ti piace fare nel tempo libero?(What do you like to do in your free time?), but it can be a little bit tricky for language learners to use.
In this post, we’ll go over everything you need to know about using piacere(to be pleasing to) and its “sister” verbs such as bastare/mi basta(It is enough (for me)), and servire/mi serve(I need). I like to think of these as “dancing” verbs, because the subjects and objects “dance” around the verb to create a different word order from English. Intrigued? Let’s go and take a look!
How is ‘piacere’ different from “to like” in English?
Though piacere is usually translated into English as “to like,” you may notice that it is grammatically different. This is because the closest literal translation for piacere is actually “to be pleasing.” What does this mean?
In English, the basic order of the words in a sentence with the verb “to like” is:
verb
I like Rome.
But if we use the expression “to be pleasing” instead of “to like,” we need to use a different grammatical structure. Rephrase your sentence and you will end up with:
subject
verb
Rome is pleasing to me.
Notice that, in the second sentence, even though “I” am the one doing the liking, I’m not the subject of the sentence! Instead the thing that I like is the subject.
This second sentence structure, with “to be pleasing” is more like the grammar you’re using when you use piacere in Italian!
But even though the grammar of piacere matches “to be pleasing,” the word order in Italian Is a little different! In Italian, an will always come before the verb, and the subject will follow!
indirect object
who is pleased?
verb
subject
what is pleasing?
Mi piace Roma.
That’s why I call these “dancing” verbs! Because the indirect object and the subject “dance” around to the opposite sides of the verb!
How to use subjects and indirect objects with the verb ‘piacere’?
Whenever you use the verb piacere in Italian, you’ll need to mention two things: an indirect object, which is the person who does the liking (or the person who is pleased) and the subject, which is whatever that person likes (or the thing that pleases them). Here’s how to use and position these in a sentence:
The subject of piacere is the thing that you like. Remember, that the subject comes after piacere, not before!
Because the subject is something that someone likes, the subject will almost always use piacere in its third-person (lui/lei/loro) forms. Here are the rules to follow:
Use piace to like a or an action:
- singular noun
Mi piace il gelato.
I like ice cream.
- infinitive verb
Ti piace leggere.
You like to read.
Use piacciono to like a noun or a list of things:
- plural noun
Ci piacciono le tagliatelle.
I like ice cream.
- list
Ci piacciono il caffè e il gelato.
We like coffee and ice cream.
Tip
Important
You can use the and forms of piacere, if the thing you like is “me” “us” or “you,” like this:
Mi piaci!
I like you!
lit. You are pleasing to me
But be careful! This expression implies you find someone attractive. So if you don’t want to be misunderstood 😉, instead say:
Mi sei simpatico/a.
You are agreeable to me.
Piacere always has an indirect object, which is the person who is pleased or the person who does the liking. With piacere the indirect object usually comes before the verb.
There are two ways to give an indirect object in Italian: with an (unstressed) , or with a(to) + a / :
Indirect object pronouna + stressed pronoun- a + noun
Translationmi
a me
to/for me
ti
a te
to/for you
gli
a lui
to/for him
le
a lei
to/for her
ci
a noi
to/for us
vi
a voi
to/for you all
gli / loro
a loro
to/for them
–
a Gianni
to/for Gianni
–
ai bambini
to/for the children
Important
When a comes before a (il, lo, la, i, ...), you’ll need to use an “articulated preposition,” which combines a and the definite article:
al = a + il
agli = a + gli
alla = a + la
ai = a + i
all' = a + l'
alle = a + le
allo = a + lo
Did you know?
You can hear A me mi piace cantare(I like singing), but you know that mi = a me, so why repeat the pronoun?
The Italian literary authority Accademia della Crusca considers “a me mi piace” acceptable in certain spoken contexts, but never acceptable in writing!
Examples of ‘piacere’ in conversations
Here are some examples of conversations with piacere. See if you can recognize the rules we saw above:
Example 1:
Ti piace l’inverno?
Do you like winter?
Sì, mi piace! / No, non mi piace!
Yes, I like it! / No, I don’t like it.
→ Notice that you don’t need to add a subject pronoun! Using the singular piace is enough!
Example 2:
Vi piacciono le tagliatelle?
Do you all like tagliatelle?
Sì, ci piacciono! / No, non ci piacciono!
Yes, we like them! / No, we don’t like them.
Example 3:
Cosa ti piace (fare)?
What do you like (to do)?
Ci piace leggere! / Non ci piace leggere.
We like reading. / We don’t like reading.
Important
You can see in these examples that to say that you don’t like something, you can put the word non before the indirect object pronoun.
No, non gli piace!
No, he doesn’t like it.
But if there is an indirect object with a, the word non will come before the verb instead.
No, a Gianni non piace!
No, Gianni doesn’t like it.
How to use ‘piacere’ in other verb tenses?
You can use the verb piacere with the same grammar in any or . Just keep in mind that the verb will always with the subject (i.e. the thing that is pleasing) not with the indirect object (the person who likes something).
This verb takes essere(to be) when it’s used in a . Therefore, the verb essere and the agree with the thing that is liked!
Vi erano piaciute le isole Eolie.
You had liked the Aeolian Islands.
le isole Eolie is feminine and plural
erano is third-person plural
piaciute is in its feminine plural form
Ti è piaciuto il libro?
Did you like the book?
il libro is masculine and singular
è is third-person plural
piaciuto is in its masculine singular form
When piacere is followed by an infinitive, always use piaciuto
Gli sarà piaciuto andare in pullman?
Would he have liked taking the bus?
Verbs similar to ‘piacere’: ‘bastare’ (to be enough), ‘servire’ (to need), and more!
Below, you can find a list of the most common verbs that work exactly like piacere. Notice that in each case, an indirect object comes before the verb, and the subject comes after the verb!
bastare
to be enough
Mi basta un uovo.
For me, one egg is enough.
Mi bastano dieci minuti per finire.
Ten minutes are enough for me to be finished.
servire
to be necessary; to need
Mi serve il vostro aiuto.
I need your help.
lit. Your help is necessary to me.
A Lia servono dei soldi.
Lia needs money.
lit. Some money is necessary for Lia.
Exception!
Servire has some other meanings that follow more familiar grammar:
It can be used in a subject + verb + direct object sentence to mean “to serve”
La cameriera serve la carne.
The waitress is serving the meat.
It can be used with only a subject to mean “is used (for)”:
L’olio serve per condire l’insalata.
Oil is used to dress salads.
mancare
to be lacking; to not have
Mi manca il fiato.
I am short of breath.
lit. Breath is lacking for me.
Ci monaco le parole.
We lack words.
lit. Words are lacking to us.
Mancare can also mean to “miss something/someone” as in:
Mi manchi.
I miss you.
lit. You’re lacking to me.
Important
Though these three are the most common, there are more, including:
dispiacere(to be sorry)
interessare(to be interested in)
occorrere(to need, to be necessary)
restare(to have... left)
volerci(to need)
Summing Up
If you love to speak with your Italian friends about what you like or do NOT like, just put on your “dancing” shoes and “spin” the subject/object of the phrase and if you say...
Ti piace il tiramisù, think about it as, “The tiramisu is pleasing to you,” or if you think that Vi basta un caffè, spin it into, “For you a coffee is enough!”
Let’s summarize our “dancing” verbs:
indirect object
piace / serve / basta / manca
(singular verb)
singular noun / infinitive
Ci piace l’Italia.
We like Italy.
Vi piace leggere.
You like reading.
indirect object
piacciono / servono / bastano / mancano
(plural verb)
plural noun / list
Mi piacciono gli italiani.
I like Italians.
And now… ci serve un po’ di pratica(we need some practice)! Click the link to access our activities on mi piace and similar expressions!
