Piacere Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Italian

piacere — to like — is one of the verbs you will use every day in Italian. It is a non-reflexive, irregular -ere verb, and it comes up in conversation, at work and at home. It means to like something, but the construction is reversed: in Italian the thing liked is the subject and the person who likes it is the indirect object, so 'I like the film' is 'Mi piace il film'. It takes essere in the passato prossimo, and its present has the stem change piaccio/piacciono. On this page you will find piacere in real sentences, grouped by meaning and tense, two short texts that show it in context, the mistakes learners actually make with it, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself. The full conjugation tables are on the piacere conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the piacere passato prossimo tense page.

Example sentences with piacere

In the present tense

  • “Mi piace il film ogni giorno.” — “I like the film”
  • “Ti piace il film ogni giorno.” — “you like the film”
  • “Gli piace il film ogni giorno.” — “he likes the film”
  • “Ci piace il film ogni giorno.” — “we like the film”
  • “Vi piace il film ogni giorno.” — “you like the film”
  • “Gli piace il film ogni giorno.” — “they like the film”

In the passato prossimo

  • “Mi è piaciuto il film questa settimana.” — “I have liked the film”
  • “Ti è piaciuto il film questa settimana.” — “you have liked the film”
  • “Gli è piaciuto il film questa settimana.” — “he has liked the film”
  • “Ci è piaciuto il film questa settimana.” — “we have liked the film”
  • “Vi è piaciuto il film questa settimana.” — “you have liked the film”
  • “Gli è piaciuto il film questa settimana.” — “they have liked the film”

In other tenses

The same verb in the imperfect, the future, the conditional, the present subjunctive and the imperative — the tenses that complete the picture. All forms come from the verified tables.

  • “Mi piaceva il film una volta.” — “I used to like the film”
  • “Ti piacerà il film domani.” — “you will like the film”
  • “Gli piacerebbe il film un giorno.” — “he would like the film”
  • “È importante che ci piaccia il film.” — “It is important that we like the film”
  • “Piaci a Maria!” — “Please Maria!”

How piacere is used

The first thing to know about piacere is its core meaning: to like. It means to like something, but the construction is reversed: in Italian the thing liked is the subject and the person who likes it is the indirect object, so 'I like the film' is 'Mi piace il film'. It takes essere in the passato prossimo, and its present has the stem change piaccio/piacciono. In everyday speech it appears most often in the present and the passato prossimo, the two tenses on this page, because most of what we say is either what we do every day or what we have just done. Learn those two tenses first and the rest of the conjugation becomes a matter of adding forms one at a time. The second thing to know is the company piacere keeps. The present io form is piaccio, and it pairs naturally with the time words ogni giorno and sempre for habits, and with adesso for what is happening right now. The passato prossimo io form is sono piaciuto, and it pairs with ieri and questa settimana for finished actions. When you learn a verb form, learn its time words with it, and choosing the tense becomes automatic. The third thing to know is what piacere does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after io you need piaccio, never piacere. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the passato prossimo is sono piaciuto, built with essere, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle piaciuto is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Piacere in context

Mi piace il film ogni giorno. Ti piace il film ogni giorno. Gli piace il film ogni giorno. Ci piace il film ogni giorno. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of piacere is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — piaccio, piaci, piace, piacciamo — while the meaning stays the same: to like. Mi è piaciuto il film questa settimana. Ti è piaciuto il film questa settimana. Gli è piaciuto il film questa settimana. Ci è piaciuto il film questa settimana. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the passato prossimo of piacere appears constantly: a finished action, a precise moment, and the story goes on. Compare these sentences with the present ones above: the verb changes tense, but the basic meaning — to like — does not change. That is the difference between a habit and a finished event.

Common mistakes

1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Io piacere il film.”

✓ Right: “Mi piace il film ogni giorno.”

The infinitive piacere never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated present form piaccio.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Io piaci il film.”

✓ Right: “Mi piace il film ogni giorno.”

piaci is the tu form, not the io form. The io form is piaccio — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Io piaccio il film ieri.”

✓ Right: “Mi è piaciuto il film questa settimana.”

Ieri points to the past, so use the passato prossimo sono piaciuto here, not the present piaccio.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Io ho piaciuto il film.”

✓ Right: “Mi è piaciuto il film questa settimana.”

piacere takes essere in the passato prossimo. The io form is sono piaciuto — the other auxiliary never belongs with this verb.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on piacere across the tenses. Answers with explanations follow each question.

  1. What is the tu form of piacere in the Present indicative?

    • A) piaccio
    • B) piaci
    • C) piace
    • D) piacciamo

  2. What is the io form of piacere in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?

    • A) sei piaciuto
    • B) è piaciuto
    • C) sono piaciuto
    • D) siamo piaciuto

  3. What is the lui/lei form of piacere in the Imperfect?

    • A) piacevo
    • B) piacevi
    • C) piacevamo
    • D) piaceva

  4. What is the noi form of piacere in the Future?

    • A) piaceremo
    • B) piacerò
    • C) piacerai
    • D) piacerà

  5. What is the tu form of piacere in the Conditional?

    • A) piacerei
    • B) piaceresti
    • C) piacerebbe
    • D) piaceremmo

  6. What is the io form of piacere in the Passato remoto?

    • A) piacesti
    • B) piacque
    • C) piacqui
    • D) piacemmo

  7. What is the noi form of piacere in the Present subjunctive?

    • A) piaccia
    • B) piacciate
    • C) piacciano
    • D) piacciamo

  8. What is the gerund of piacere?

    • A) piacendo
    • B) piaciuto
    • C) piacere
    • D) piaccio

  9. What is the past participle of piacere?

    • A) piacendo
    • B) piaciuto
    • C) piacere
    • D) piaccio

  10. What does piacere mean in English?

  • A) to sit down
  • B) to get dressed
  • C) to like
  • D) to call

Answer key

  1. B) piaci — the correct form is piaci. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) sono piaciuto — the correct form is sono piaciuto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) piaceva — the correct form is piaceva. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) piaceremo — the correct form is piaceremo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) piaceresti — the correct form is piaceresti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) piacqui — the correct form is piacqui. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) piacciamo — the correct form is piacciamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) piacendo — the correct form is piacendo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) piaciuto — the correct form is piaciuto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to like — the correct form is to like. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does piacere mean in English?

piacere means “to like”. You use it whenever you talk about to like in Italian, in the present, the past and the future.

Is piacere regular or irregular?

piacere is irregular. piacere is irregular in present, passato-remoto, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative, past-participle, present-perfect, pluperfect — learn those forms as a set.

What are the gerund and past participle of piacere?

The gerund is piacendo and the past participle is piaciuto. The perfect tenses use essere + piaciuto.

Where can I see the full conjugation of piacere?

On the piacere conjugation page — every tense, every person, with tables. The piacere passato prossimo tense page goes deeper into its most practised tense.

Pronunciation

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for piacere, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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