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How to use ‘mi piace’ and similar expressions in Italian?

By: Silvia Giorgini Althoen Fri Aug 30 2024
Italian
Verbs

In Italian, we use the expression mi piace to say “I like,” but the expression literally means “(something) is pleasing to me!” The verb 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!

Table of Contents

    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:

    subject

    verb

    direct object

    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

    indirect object

    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 indirect object 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 singular noun 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 plural 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

      Use definite articles (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.

      Important

      You can use the 1st person and 2nd person forms of piacere, if the thing you like is “me” “us” or “you,” like this:

      Mi piaci!

      I like you!

      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) indirect object pronoun, or with a(to) + a stressed pronoun / noun:

      Indirect object pronoun
      a + stressed pronoun
      • a + noun
      Translation

      mi

      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 definite article (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 tense or mood. Just keep in mind that the verb will always agree 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 compound tense. Therefore, the verb essere and the past participle 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.

        Your help is necessary to me.

      • A Lia servono dei soldi.

        Lia needs money.

        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.

        Breath is lacking for me.

      • Ci monaco le parole.

        We lack words.

        Words are lacking to us.

      Mancare can also mean to “miss something/someone” as in:

      Mi manchi.

      I miss you.

      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!

    Downloadable Resources

    Elevate your language-learning journey to new heights with the following downloadable resources.

    How to use ‘Mi piace’ and similar expressions in Italian?~Activities

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