The verb “piacere” has undoubtedly come up in your Italian learning. (to like). It’s a little challenging to use this verb in the past tense because it doesn’t have the same structure as most other verbs. You can use “piacere” in the past tense with ease with a little bit of practice, so don’t worry.

Just like the verb piacere in the present tense, piacere in other tenses takes the third-person singular and plural.

Piacere is conjugated with essere in the passato prossimo, so the past participle agrees in gender and number with the subject.

Points to keep in mind:

Piacere takes essere (to be) in compound tenses.

Piaciuto has to agree with what was liked, not with who liked it.

In its verb forms, Piacere uses indirect object pronouns, which differ from other pronouns, such as reflexive ones. Sometimes learners get them mixed up and say “si piace,” which is incorrect, instead of “gli peace.”

📌 PIACERE IN THE PAST WITH ANOTHER VERB

When the subject is an action (an infinitive verb), the auxiliary essere of piacere is in the third person singular and the past participle ends in –o.

Mi piace cucinare la lasagna (I like to cook lasagna)

Mi è piaciuto cucinare la lasagna (I liked to cook lasagna)

The auxiliary and past participles always coincide with the gender and number of the pleasant object. So, if you are liking a feminine noun, make sure the participle agrees with the subject.

Mi è piaciuta la pasta → I liked the pasta

Mi sono piaciute le tue scarpe → I liked your shoes 

It is necessary to keep in mind that no matter what tenses you use, you must always use PIACERE in the third person singular or plural.

So there you have it – a quick guide to using “piacere” in the past tense. Remember to use “essere” in the past tense, along with the past participle “piaciuto/a/i/e,” and to make sure the past participle agrees in gender and number with the thing that was liked, not with the subject. With a little bit of practice, you’ll be able to use this tricky verb with ease!

What’s next?

You might want to keep learning Italian online with these free resources:

How to use the Passato Prossimo tense in Italian

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