Log inSign up

Perché non ti è piaciuto il ballo?

Perché non ti è piaciuto il ballo?
Why didn't you like the dance?
From Lesson 103:The verb piacere in the past tense (è piaciuto, sono piaciuti)·Italian

Questions & Answers about Perché non ti è piaciuto il ballo?

Why does this sentence use è instead of ha for the past tense?
In Italian, the verb piacere always uses the helper verb essere (to be) in the past tense, never avere (to have). So, we say è piaciuto, which translates literally as it was pleasing.
If a woman is being asked this question, should it be ti è piaciuta?
No, it stays piaciuto! With piacere, the past participle matches the thing that is liked, not the person who likes it. Since il ballo (the dance) is masculine singular, the verb must be è piaciuto.
Where is the word for "you" in this sentence?
The word for "you" is the pronoun ti. Because piacere works backward compared to English, it literally means to be pleasing to. So, ti actually means to you. The sentence literally reads: Why was the dance not pleasing to you?
Why does non come before ti?
In Italian negative sentences, non always goes directly in front of the pronoun and verb. You cannot split the pronoun ti from its verb è piaciuto, so non has to go before the whole group.

Learn Perché non ti è piaciuto il ballo and more in Italian

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
  • ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free
Start learning Italian →