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Verbs like 'piacere' and indirect objects

English speakers often stumble when learning to use the verb piacere. When you want to say that you like something, need something, or miss someone, Italian takes a slightly different path. The person experiencing the feeling is not always the subject of the sentence.

Instead, Italian makes the person the indirect receiver of the action. The thing you like, need, or react to becomes the grammatical subject. This group of words includes high-frequency verbs like piacere, mancare, and servire.

Word list
mi dispiaceA1 sorry mi dispiace = it is displeasing to me piacereA1 to be pleasing to mi piace = it is pleasing to me (I like it) costareA2 to cost questo mi costa = this costs me fare maleA2 to hurt mi fa male = my body part hurts fare maleA2 to hurt mi fa male = it hurts me importareA2 to matter mi importa = it matters to me servireA2 to need mi serve = it is useful to me (I need it) succedereA2 to happen mi è successo qualcosa = something happened to me accadereB1 to happen mi è accaduto un guaio = a mishap happened to me andare beneB1 to fit mi va bene = it fits me calzareB1 to fit mi calza bene = it fits me well capitareB1 to happen mi capita spesso = it often happens to me (I often find myself) dare fastidioB1 to disturb mi dà fastidio = it bothers me donareB1 to suit mi dona = it suits me interessareB1 to interest mi interessa = it interests me mancareB1 to be missing mi manca = it is lacking to me (I miss it) parereB1 to appear mi pare giusto = it seems right to me (I think so) sembrareB1 to appear mi sembra strano = it seems strange to me (I think it's strange) stare beneB1 to suit mi sta bene = it suits me bastareB2 to suffice mi basta = it is enough for me dolereB2 to hurt mi duole = it hurts me fare pauraB2 to scare mi fa paura = it scares me fare schifoB2 to disgust mi fa schifo = it disgusts me prudereB2 to itch mi prude = it itches me toccareB2 to be someone's time or turn mi tocca = it falls to me (it is my turn)
How it works

With these verbs, the person experiencing the state or emotion is expressed as an indirect object pronoun, such as mi, ti, gli, le, or ci. The thing causing the feeling is the grammatical subject, meaning the verb must agree with it.

If the thing you like is singular, the verb is singular. If the things you like are plural, the verb is plural.

Mi piace la pizza.
(I like pizza.)
Mi piacciono i gatti.
(I like cats.)
Missing, needing, and mattering

Several everyday verbs follow this exact same pattern. For example, mancare translates to "to miss", but literally means "to be lacking to someone". Similarly, servire means "to need", but acts like "to be useful to someone". Bastare means "to be enough for someone".

Le manca la sua famiglia.
(She misses her family.)
Ci servono i soldi.
(We are short of money. / We need money.)
Questo non mi basta.
(This is not enough for me.)
Feelings, pains, and reactions

Bodily sensations and strong reactions are also frequently expressed with an indirect object. If a body part aches, it "does pain to you" using fare male or dolere. If something is scary or gross, it "does fear" (fare paura) or "does disgust" (fare schifo) to you.

Mi fa male la testa.
(My head hurts.)
I tuoni mi fanno paura.
(Thunder scares me.)
Le luci le danno fastidio.
(The lights bother her.)
Clothing and fitting

When trying on clothes, the item of clothing is the subject. Verbs like andare bene, stare bene, donare, and calzare describe how the clothes sit on you, so you remain the indirect object.

Queste scarpe mi vanno bene.
(These shoes fit me.)
Quel colore ti sta bene.
(That color suits you.)
Watch out: Not always a reversal

It is tempting to think of this family as "verbs that reverse the English sentence", but that is not always true. The real rule is simply that the affected person is an indirect object.

With verbs like costare (to cost) or interessare (to interest), the English subject and the Italian subject are often exactly the same. This indirect object pattern simply shows who receives the impact.

La storia mi interessa.
(History interests me.)
Questi libri mi costano molto.
(These books cost me a lot.)

You might also see this structure with verbs like toccare when expressing whose turn it is to do a task.

Tocca a me scegliere.
(It is my turn to choose.)
Summary

When using verbs in the piacere family, remember that the verb agrees with the thing causing the feeling (the grammatical subject), while the person experiencing it acts as an indirect object.