5. Use of the verbs like 'piacere'
Uso dei verbi come "piacere"
The Italian verb piacere ‘to please, to like’ is a bit tricky, because it works differently from the corresponding English verb. Instead of saying that ‘A likes B’, in Italian you say ‘B is pleasing to A’. As a result, you have to use the structure: indirect object + verb + subject, as in the example:
Agli italiani piace il calcio Italians like soccer. Literally: To Italians is pleasing soccer
Note that piacere is mostly used in the 3rd person, and the subject, which generally follows the verb, determines whether the verb is singular or plural.
| c1 | c2> |
|---|---|
| Verb piacere | |
| io | piaccio |
| tu | piaci |
| lui/lei | piace |
| noi | piacciamo |
| voi | piacete |
| loro | piacciono |
Agli italiani piacciono gli spaghetti Italians like spaghetti
Mi piacciono gli spaghetti I like spaghetti
Ma:
Io ti piaccio? - Do you like me?
E:
Tu mi piaci molto - I like you a lot
Other verbs that behave similarly to piacere are listed below:
dispiacere: to displease, to upset
sembrare: to seem, to look like
parere: to seem, to look like
bastare: to be sufficient, to suffice
mancare: to be lacking, to miss
occorrere: to require, to need
servire: to serve, to be of use