Learn Italian: Mi piace studiare la storia.

Mi piace studiare la storia.

I like studying history.

Breakdown of Mi piace studiare la storia.

Questions & Answers about Mi piace studiare la storia.

Why is the verb piace used instead of "piaccio" if I am the one who likes it?

In Italian, the verb piacere works backward compared to English. Instead of saying "I like X", you are actually saying "X is pleasing to me". Mi means "to me", and piace means "is pleasing". Because the activity of studying (studiare) counts as a single thing, you use the singular form piace.

Why is studiare translated as "studying"? I thought it meant "to study".

It means both! When talking about activities you like, Italian always uses the dictionary form of the verb (the infinitive), like studiare. In English, we can say "I like to study" or "I like studying", but Italian just sticks to Mi piace studiare.

Why do we need la before storia? In English we just say "studying history".

Italian uses definite articles (il, la, etc.) much more often than English, especially when talking about broad categories, abstract concepts, or school subjects. While in English we leave the article out for general subjects like "history", Italian requires it: la storia.

I've seen storia translated as "story" before. Does it mean both?

Yes, storia translates to both "history" and "story" in English. You have to rely on the context to know which one is meant. Since the sentence is about studying, "history" is the natural fit here!