A mia madre piacciono l’avocado e la prugna, ma io preferisco una ciliegia fresca.

Because piacere works differently from English to like.

In Italian, the thing liked is the grammatical subject, and the person who likes it is introduced with a.

So the structure is basically:

• A mia madre = to my mother
• piacciono l’avocado e la prugna = the avocado and the plum are pleasing

That is why Italian uses a here. Very often, you will also see a pronoun with it:

• A mia madre piacciono...
• Le piacciono... = She likes...

So a mia madre is not the subject; it is the indirect object.

Because the subject is plural: l’avocado e la prugna.

With piacere, the verb agrees with the thing or things that are liked:

• Mi piace l’avocado. = one thing
• Mi piacciono l’avocado e la prugna. = more than one thing

Here there are two items joined by e, so Italian uses the plural form piacciono.

Italian often uses definite articles when talking about things in a general sense, especially with likes, dislikes, and categories.

So:

• Mi piace il caffè.
• Le piacciono le fragole.
• A mia madre piacciono l’avocado e la prugna.

This does not necessarily mean one specific avocado and one specific plum. It can mean those foods in general.

English often drops the article in these cases, but Italian usually keeps it.

Because una ciliegia fresca refers to a fresh cherry, meaning one unspecified cherry.

This contrasts nicely with the first part of the sentence, where the foods are mentioned more generally:

• l’avocado e la prugna = avocado and plum, as foods/categories
• una ciliegia fresca = one fresh cherry

If you said la ciliegia fresca, it would more likely sound like the fresh cherry or possibly fresh cherries as a category in a more general statement, depending on context.

Yes, Italian often drops subject pronouns because the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

So preferisco already means I prefer.

But io is included here for contrast:

• ..., ma io preferisco... = ..., but I prefer...

The pronoun adds emphasis, almost like saying:

• my mother likes..., but I prefer...

So io is not required grammatically, but it is very natural here because of the contrast introduced by ma.

Because preferire is an -ire verb that takes -isc- in some forms of the present tense.

Its present-tense pattern is:

• io preferisco
• tu preferisci
• lui/lei preferisce
• noi preferiamo
• voi preferite
• loro preferiscono

So preferisco is the correct I form.

Many common Italian verbs follow this pattern, such as:

• capire → capisco
• finire → finisco
• pulire → pulisco

In Italian, adjectives often come after the noun, especially when they describe a factual quality like freshness, color, size, or type.

So:

• una ciliegia fresca = a fresh cherry

This is the most neutral and natural order.

Sometimes adjectives can come before the noun, but that often changes the tone or emphasis. In this sentence, fresca after the noun is the normal choice.

Because it agrees with ciliegia, which is feminine singular.

In Italian, adjectives usually match the noun in gender and number:

• ciliegia = feminine singular
• fresca = feminine singular

Compare:

• un avocado fresco = masculine singular
• una ciliegia fresca = feminine singular
• ciliegie fresche = feminine plural

This agreement is a basic feature of Italian grammar.

Yes, avocado is normally treated as masculine, so it takes masculine articles:

• l’avocado
• un avocado

Because it begins with a vowel, the singular definite article is written l’.

So:

• il
  • vowel-initial masculine noun becomes l’
• l’avocado

This is similar to:

• l’amico
• l’albero

Because one plural verb can cover both nouns together.

Italian can say:

• A mia madre piacciono l’avocado e la prugna.

This is more natural than repeating the verb:

• A mia madre piace l’avocado e piace la prugna.

The repeated version is grammatically possible, but it sounds less smooth unless you want special emphasis.

Yes. Italian often uses an indirect object pronoun with piacere.

For example:

• A mia madre piacciono l’avocado e la prugna.
• Le piacciono l’avocado e la prugna.

You can also use both together for clarity or emphasis:

• A mia madre le piacciono l’avocado e la prugna.

In careful formal grammar, some teachers prefer avoiding that extra pronoun when the noun is already present, but in everyday spoken Italian it is very common to hear both.