Likes and Dislikes

In this lesson, you will learn how to express likes and dislikes using verbs like piacere (to like) and adverbs like molto (a lot) and poco (a little).

Expressing Likes

To express likes, you will use the verb piacere. This verb is conjugated differently from regular verbs, as the subject of the sentence is the thing or activity that is liked, not the person doing the liking. Here's how it works:

mi piace il gelato (I like ice cream)
ti piace la musica (You like music)
gli piace il calcio (He likes football)
le piace la pizza (She likes pizza)
ci piace viaggiare (We like to travel)
vi piace leggere (You all like reading)
loro piace il film (They like the movie)

Note that the verb piacere is always followed by the thing or activity that is liked, and it agrees in number and gender with that thing or activity.

Expressing Dislikes

To express dislikes, you will simply add the word non (not) before the verb piace. Here are some examples:

non mi piace il caffè (I don't like coffee)
non ti piace la pioggia (You don't like rain)
non gli piace il libro (He doesn't like the book)
non le piace la cucina cinese (She doesn't like Chinese food)
non ci piace il freddo (We don't like the cold)
non vi piace il rumore (You all don't like the noise)
non gli piace il calcio (They don't like football)

Intensifying Likes and Dislikes

To intensify your likes or dislikes, you can use adverbs such as molto (a lot) and poco (a little). Here are some examples:

mi piace molto il gelato (I really like ice cream)
non ti piace molto la musica (You don't really like music)
gli piace poco il calcio (He doesn't like football much)
le piace molto la pizza (She really likes pizza)
ci piace poco viaggiare (We don't like to travel much)
vi piace molto leggere (You all really like reading)
non gli piace molto il film (They don't really like the movie)

Recap

To summarize, when expressing likes and dislikes:

• Use the verb piacere to indicate likes. The subject of the sentence is what is liked.
• Add non before piace to indicate dislikes.
• Use adverbs like molto and poco to intensify likes and dislikes.

Remember to pay attention to the agreement between the verb piacere and the thing or activity that is liked. With practice, you will become more comfortable expressing your likes and dislikes in Italian.