Log inSign up

Mi sono piaciuti parecchi cosmetici.

Mi sono piaciuti parecchi cosmetici.
I liked several cosmetics.
From Lesson 295:Plural indefinite quantities (parecchi, diversi, vari)·Italian

Questions & Answers about Mi sono piaciuti parecchi cosmetici.

Why do we use parecchi here instead of parecchio?
Parecchi is an indefinite adjective meaning "several" or "quite a few". Because it describes cosmetici (a masculine plural noun), it must agree in gender and number. If the noun were feminine plural, like creme (creams), you would use parecchie.
Could I use molti instead of parecchi? What is the difference?
Yes, you could say molti cosmetici (many cosmetics). Parecchi means "several" or "a good amount", which usually implies a quantity that is slightly less than molti (many) but more than alcuni (some).
Why is the verb sono piaciuti instead of ho piaciuto?
The verb piacere (to like) works backwards compared to English. Literally, this sentence translates to "Several cosmetics were pleasing to me." The grammatical subject of the sentence is parecchi cosmetici, which is plural. Therefore, you must use the plural auxiliary verb sono and make the past participle agree with the masculine plural subject (piaciuti).
Why does parecchio add an "h" to become parecchi, but cosmetico changes to cosmetici without an "h"?
Words ending in -co generally follow a stress rule for their plurals. If the verbal stress falls on the second-to-last syllable (pa-REC-chio), it keeps the hard "k" sound by adding an "h" to make parecchi. If the stress falls on the third-to-last syllable (co-SME-ti-co), it usually shifts to a soft "ch" sound in the plural without an "h", becoming cosmetici.

Learn Mi sono piaciuti parecchi cosmetici 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 →