Why ‘Piacere’ Is So Difficult in Italian? A Simple Guide

Ciao! 👋

If you are learning Italian, you’ve probably asked yourself:

👉 “Why is the verb piacere so difficult?”

Don’t worry—you’re not alone. Many learners struggle with this verb because it doesn’t work like to like in English. In this article, you’ll find a clear and simple explanation of how to use piacere in Italian, with examples you can start using right away.

1. The main difference: Italian vs. English
2. The two forms you need most
3. The pronouns that matter
4. The mistakes learners make
5. Using piacere in the past
6. A simple trick to remember
7. Final encouragement
8. PDF Summary Table & Exercises

The main difference: Italian vs. English

In English, we say:

• I like pizza.

In Italian, the structure is reversed. You say:

• La pizza piace a me. → “Pizza pleases me.”

👉 This is the key: the subject is not I, but the thing you like (pizza)

The two forms you need most

Luckily, you don’t need to memorize the full conjugation of piacere right away. In daily conversations, you only need two forms:

• piace → when the thing is singular
  • Mi piace la pizza. → I like pizza.
  • Ti piace il film? → Do you like the movie?
• piacciono → when the thing is plural
  • Mi piacciono gli spaghetti. → I like spaghetti.
  • Le piacciono i fiori. → She likes flowers.

💡 Tip: Focus on piace and piacciono. That’s enough for most situations

The pronouns that matter

Before piace/piacciono, you use small pronouns to show who likes something:

• mi → to me
• ti → to you
• gli → to him
• le → to her
• ci → to us
• vi → to you (plural)
• gli → to them

Examples:

• Mi piace leggere. → I like reading.
• Gli piacciono i cani. → He likes dogs.
• Ci piace viaggiare. → We like traveling.

The mistakes learners make

1. English structure
   ❌ Io piace la pizza → wrong
   ✅ Mi piace la pizza → correct
2. Wrong auxiliary in past tense
   ❌ Il film mi ha piaciuto
   ✅ Il film mi è piaciuto
3. Wrong pronoun
   ❌ A Roberto si piace leggere
   ✅ A Roberto piace leggere / Gli piace leggere
4. Verb agreement
   ❌ Mi piacciono il caffè
   ✅ Mi piace il caffè

Using piacere in the past

Once you feel comfortable, you can also use piacere in the past:

• Mi è piaciuto il film. → I liked the movie.
• Ci sono piaciute le vacanze. → We liked the holidays.

Notice how piaciuto/piaciute changes depending on what you liked.

A simple trick to remember

Here’s the golden rule:

👉 Instead of thinking “I like X,” think “X pleases me.”

This small mental shift makes piacere much easier to use correctly.

Final encouragement

Learning Italian grammar can feel tricky, but remember: progress comes step by step. The more you use piacere in real situations, the more natural it will become. One day, you’ll simply say Mi piace! without translating in your head.

Once you’re confident with piacere, try these similar verbs:

• mancare → Mi manca la famiglia → I miss my family
• servire → Ti serve aiuto? → Do you need help?
• interessare → Gli interessano i libri → He is interested in the books
• bastare → Mi bastano 10€ → €10 is enough for me.

✨ Keep practicing, and Italian will slowly become yours.

Alla prossima! 👋

PDF Summary Table & Exercises

I often read interesting articles that I already know I would like to re-read later and after a few days, so I print it out or put it on my Ipad because I find it inconvenient to read on the computer.

If maybe you do too, I’ll leave you the PDF Summary Table of this article and a couple of exercises (with solutions), in case you want to put the “piacere“. into practice a bit.

https://asticpia1.altervista.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/A2-esercizi-con-verbo-PIACERE.pdf
https://www.fergusonhs.org/ourpages/auto/2015/8/25/27710508/esercizi%20verbo%20piacere.pdf
https://integriamoci.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/cap13.pdf