A Giovanni piace pescare perché il pesce fresco ha un sapore speciale.

to have

Breakdown of A Giovanni piace pescare perché il pesce fresco ha un sapore speciale.

• piacere: to like
• perché: because
• fresco: fresh

Questions & Answers about A Giovanni piace pescare perché il pesce fresco ha un sapore speciale.

Why is there an A before Giovanni?

The A marks the indirect object of the verb piacere. In Italian piacere literally means “to be pleasing (to someone).” So A Giovanni means “to Giovanni.” Word-for-word the sentence reads, “Fishing is pleasing to Giovanni.” You could also replace A Giovanni with the dative pronoun gli: Gli piace pescare.

Why is piace singular here?

With piacere you agree with the thing that’s pleasing, not the person. The subject is the infinitive pescare (“to fish”), which is singular, so the verb is piace. If the subject were plural (e.g. i libri), you’d use piacciono.

Can I use the pronoun gli instead of A Giovanni?

Yes. In everyday Italian you can say Gli piace pescare. Here gli means “to him” (Giovanni). Using the name with a is more explicit or emphatic.

Why is pescare in the infinitive form?