The verbs Piacere and Mancare in Italian

Piacere (to like) and mancare (to miss) have a unique structure that often confuses learners of Italian. In this blog, I’ll break down the grammatical structure of these two verbs, explain how to use them correctly, and provide plenty of examples to help you understand them more easily.

In this lesson, we’ll cover:

  • How to use the verb piacere
  • An easier way to remember its structure
  • When to use piace and piacciono
  • The indirect pronouns
  • The verb mancare
  • Other verbs conjugated in a similar way

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If you are still unsure about how to conjugate regular verbs in Italian, refer to this guide HERE.

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The Verb Piacere

Piacere means “to like.”

Let’s see how to say “I like…” and “I don’t like…”.
For example, if I want to say “I like pizza,” the most natural way to express this in Italian is:
Mi piace la pizza.
To say “I don’t like pizza,” you’d say:
Non mi piace la pizza.

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A common mistake is to translate “I like” literally as io piaccio. This is not only incorrect but also means something entirely different: it means “I am liked by.”

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A Special Structure

The easiest way to understand the verb piacere is to think of Mi piace X as “X is liked by me.”
Let’s take a look at a diagram to explain why this is:

So, as you can see in the previous diagram, there are different ways of saying “I like pizza.” The most common is:

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Mi piace la pizza.
However, you can also switch the two parts and say:
La pizza mi piace.
And since mi is the same as saying a me, you can switch the pronoun and say:
La pizza piace a me, which literally means “Pizza is liked by me.”

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This is why, when learning this verb, it’s helpful to think of it as saying “X is liked by me” rather than “I like X” (although that is the correct translation).

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In summary:

Indirect pronoun + piace + direct object
Mi (or a me) + piace + la pizza

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How to Use Piace and Piacciono

The second important concept is illustrated in this picture:

The verb piacere must agree in number with the thing that is liked (the direct object). If the object is singular, use piace. If it’s plural, use piacciono.
This makes sense if you think of it as “X is liked by you” or “XY are liked by you.”

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To recap, the rule is:
Mi piace + singular noun
Mi piacciono + plural noun

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Examples:

  • Mi piace la pizza (I like pizza) – singular noun.
  • Mi piace il cioccolato (I like chocolate) – singular noun.
  • Mi piacciono le ciliegie (I like cherries) – plural noun.
  • Mi piacciono i cioccolatini (I like chocolates) – plural noun.

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The Indirect Pronouns

You may have noticed that mi and a me both mean “to me.” Mi is an unstressed pronoun (pronome atono), while a me is a stressed pronoun (pronome tonico).

Here’s a table showing the indirect object pronouns:

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More Examples with Piacere:

  1. Mi piace la musica classica = I like classical music.
  2. Ti piacciono i film d’azione = You like action movies.
  3. Gli piace leggere libri = He likes reading.
  4. Ci piace viaggiare = We like travelling.
  5. Vi piacciono le mele = You like apples.
  6. Gli piace ballare = They like dancing.

You can also use proper names instead of indirect pronouns. In this case, you must add the preposition a before the name, for example, a Giovanni (to Giovanni) or a Maria (to Maria).

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For instance:
A lui piace la pasta = A Giovanni piace la pasta. (Giovanni likes pasta.)
A lei piace la pasta = A Eleonora piacciono le patate. (Eleonora likes potatoes.)

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Have a look at some recurrent mistakes, in this short video HERE so that you don’t make them yourself!

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The conjugations of piacere

Let’s see how to conjugate piacere in the most commonly used tenses.

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With this remember to use piace with singular nouns and piacciono with plural nouns.

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A few examples for you:

  • Gli piace andare in bici. = He likes riding a bike.
  • A Luisa piacciono i cioccolatini. = Luisa likes chocolates.
  • A loro piace l’autunno. = They like Autumn.

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Examples:

Il passato prossimo

  • Mi è piaciuto il regalo! I liked the present!
  • Mi sono piaciuti i regali! I liked the presents!

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L’imperfetto

  • Ti piaceva andare a scuola? Did you enjoy going to school?
  • Quando era piccolo gli piaceva giocare a lego. When he was small, he liked playing with lego.

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Il futuro

  • Ti piacerà molto Vienna. You are going to like Vienna a lot.
  • A Luigi piacerà la tua torta. Luigi is going to like your cake.

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For instance:

Il condizionale

  • Ci piacerebbe uscire stasera. We would like to go out tonight.
  • Gli piacerebbe suonare il piano. He would like to play the piano.

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Il congiuntivo

  • Credo che gli piaccia andare in bici. I think he likes riding a bike.
  • Penso che vi piaccia il film. I think you like the movie.

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The Verb Mancare

Now let’s move on to mancare, which means “to miss.” Like piacere, mancare follows the same construction: the subject is what is missed, and the person missing it is indicated by a pronoun preceded by a.

Similar to piacere, to conjugate this verb in Italian, it’s best to think of it as saying:
“X is missed by me.”
For example:
Luigi mi manca = “I miss Luigi.”

The structure is:
Indirect object (pronoun) + manca/mancano + direct object.

As with piacere, the verb mancare agrees in number with the direct object. Use manca for singular objects and mancano for plural objects.

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Examples with Mancare:

  1. Mi manca la mia famiglia = “I miss my family.”
  2. Ti manca il sole = “You miss the sun.”
  3. Gli mancano i suoi amici = “He misses his friends.”
  4. Ci manca la spiaggia = “We miss the beach.”
  5. Vi mancano le montagne = “You miss the mountains.”
  6. Gli manca la loro città natale = “They miss their hometown.”

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Other Verbs Conjugated Like Piacere and Mancare:

  • Sembrare (to seems)
  • Bastare (to be enough)
  • Interessare (to interest)
  • Servire (to need)

Here are a few examples with these verbs:

Sembrare (to seem)

  • Mi sembra presto per uscire. = It seems early to go out.
  • Gli sembrano belle queste giornate. =These autumn days seem beautiful to him.
  • A Antonella sembra un bell’uomo. = To Antonella he seems like a handsome man.

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Bastare and occorrere (to be enough)

  • Un chilo di patate basta per la ricetta. = “A kilo of potatoes is enough for the recipe.”
  • Vi bastano tre giorni per completare il progetto? = “Are three days enough for you to complete the project?”
  • Mi basta un caffè. = “One coffee is enough for me.”
  • Ci occorre del formaggio per la ricetta. = I need cheese for the recipe

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Interessare (to interest)

  • Gli interessano le lingue straniere. = “They are interested in foreign languages.”
  • Mi interessa il calcio. = “I’m interested in football.”
  • Gli interessa molto la scienza. = “He is very interested in science.”

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Servire (to need)

  • Mi serve la penna. = “I need the pen.”
  • Ti serve una mano? = “Do you need a hand?”
  • A Giuseppe serve più tempo. = “Giuseppe needs more time.”

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I hope these explanations and examples help you feel more confident using piacere, mancare, and similar verbs. With practice, you’ll soon find these verbs much easier to handle! In any case, please let me know how you get on with these.

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