PIACERE
PART 1: idiomatic approach to PIACERE
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SINGULAR |
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"PIACERE" is considered a 'difficult' grammar point.
It doesn't need to be.
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1) MEMORIZE the following expressions: MI PIACE NON MI PIACE = I like I don't like TI PIACE? NON TI PIACE? = Do you like? Don't you like
ALERT: the meaning is that of "TO LIKE" but the structure is different. MEMORIZE AND USE THE EXPRESSIONS AS THEY ARE PRESENTED HERE.
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WITH A VERB: MI PIACE ASCOLTARE LA MUSICA = I like to listen to music MI PIACE SCRIVERE MI
PIACE LEGGERE NON MI PIACE VIAGGIARE IN AEREO
NON MI PIACE GUARDARE LA TV = I don't like
to watch TV THE VERB MUST BE IN THE INFINITIVE FORM You cannot say "MI PIACE IO GUARDO LA TV". That would translate "I LIKE I WATCH TV"
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Esercizio 1: Change the sentences above into questions, first TI PIACE? then NON TI PIACE?
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WITH A SINGULAR NOUN: MI PIACE LA MUSICA CLASSICA = I like classical music MI PIACE LA LIRICA MI PIACE SHAKESPEARE MI PIACE IL SUSHI MI PIACE LO CHABLIS NON MI PIACE LA TV NON MI PIACE il nome NON MI PIACE LA BIRRA = I don't like beer
When the thing "I like" is a SINGULAR item (singular noun) the correct expression is MI PIACE.
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Esercizio 2: Change the sentences above into questions, first TI PIACE? then NON TI PIACE?
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PLURAL |
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1) MEMORIZE the following expressions:
MI PIACCIONO NON MI PIACCIONO TI PIACCIONO? NON TI PIACCIONO?
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WITH A PLURAL NOUN: MI PIACCIONO GLI ZUCCHINI = I like zucchini MI PIACCIONO GLI OROLOGI RUSSI = I like Russian watches MI PIACCIONO LE FRAGOLE MI PIACCIONO LE POLTRONE COMODE NON MI PIACCIONO I CAPRICCI DELLE MIE BAMBINE NON MI PIACCIONO LE SCUSE NON MI PIACCIONO I PROGRAMMI DI REALITY TV NON MI PIACCIONO I FILM INGLESI = I don't like British films
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Esercizio 3:
Change the sentences above into questions, first TI PIACE? then NON TI PIACE? |
PART 2:
grammatical approach to PIACERE
(when the person who "likes" something is not "io" or "tu" etc.....)
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1) PIACERE in Italian has the same meaning as TO LIKE (You can also use "amare", although it is has stronger connotations.) 2) PIACERE, however, does not have the same structure of "to like." Rather it parallels the structure of TO APPEAL TO. THEREFORE, if you replace TO LIKE with TO APPEAL TO in English, you will have a template for the use of PIACERE. (Of course, there is a difference in meaning in English between "appeal" and "like", but here we are concerned only with SENTENCE STRUCTURE.) Examples: Children LIKE ice cream => ice cream APPEALS TO children. In Italian: Il gelato PIACE ai bambini. Children LIKE toys => toys APPEAL TO children. In Italian: I giocattoli PIACCIONO ai bambini.
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So, remember: PIACE means IT APPEALS TO..... PIACCIONO means THEY APPEAL TO.....
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to me: mi How do you say? I LIKE ice cream but I DON'T LIKE spaghetti. Convert the sentence using APPEAL TO. Ice cream appeals to me but spaghetti don' t appeal to me. Il gelato MI PIACE ma gli spaghetti NON MI PIACCIONO |
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to you: ti Question: DO YOU LIKE ICE CREAM AND SPAGHETTI? Convert the sentence using APPEAL TO: Does ice cream appeal to you and spaghetti appeal to you? Il gelato TI piace e gli spaghetti TI piacciono?
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Example: The* Italians like red wine. Do the* Americans like red wine? Convert: Red wine appeals to the* Italians. Does red wine appeal to the* Americans? Il vino rosso PIACE agli Italiani. Il vino rosso PIACE agli Americani? Si. Il vino rosso piace agli Americani.
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PIACERE (Io piaccio) Io piaccio => I appeal to...
You will use (almost) exclusively ONLY: |