Learn Italian: Mi piacciono gli stilisti italiani. - I like Italian fashion designers.

Mi piacciono gli stilisti italiani.

I like Italian fashion designers.

Breakdown of Mi piacciono gli stilisti italiani.

Questions & Answers about Mi piacciono gli stilisti italiani.

Why does the word for designers end in '-i' if the singular is 'stilista'?

Words ending in -ista referring to professions are the same for men and women in the singular (like lo stilista or la stilista). However, in the plural, they take standard gendered endings: masculine or mixed groups become -isti (gli stilisti) and all-female groups become -iste (le stiliste).

Why do we use the article 'gli' instead of 'i' before 'stilisti'?

The word stilisti starts with an 's' followed by another consonant ('st', known as an impure 's'). Masculine plural words starting this way always take the article gli. If it were singular, it would use lo and become lo stilista.

Why is the verb 'piacciono' instead of 'piace'?

In Italian, the verb piacere works like 'to be pleasing to'. The subject of this sentence isn't 'I', but rather the fashion designers doing the pleasing. Because gli stilisti italiani is plural, the verb must also be in the 'they' form, which is piacciono.

How would I say this if I only liked female Italian fashion designers?

You would say Mi piacciono le stiliste italiane. The feminine plural for -ista words ends in -e, and you have to change the article and adjective to match the feminine plural noun.