"The boy likes elephants."

Translation: Al ragazzo piacciono gli elefanti.

[tcheard]

Oh so piacciono belongs to the elephants not the boy, and that is why you use the loro piacciono rather than the lui/lei version piace?

[Jrg693239]

Yes. Think of it like "to appeal to". The elephants appeal to the boy.

[MrMedi92]

Why "Il ragazzo piace gli elefanti" is not correct? I cannot figure it out.

[5LuQ3]

Because 'piace' does not resemble 'like', really. It is a quite different construction. Something like "The elephants are pleasant to the boy." That's why we use 'al ragazzo - to the boy'. I am new in Italian, but it's not my first foreign landuage, so I know - try to remember some new construction and use it correctly. You will understand it later. We don't teach grammar to three-year-olds, we just show them the correct patterns. It is sometimes easier to learn language like children.

[HeatherTay732598]

In Italian, does it sound more natural to say
"al ragazzo piacciono gli elefanti" or
"gli elefanti piacciono al ragazzo" ?
Duo accepts both as correct.

[LoliChaj]

depends on the context… :)

[Joan555082]

Is the word order really so important here? Piacciono has to go in the middle?

[f.formica]

No, "al ragazzo gli elefanti piacciono" would be fine if you want to stress "like". "Piacciono al ragazzo gli elefanti" instead would only be used in poetry or song lyrics.

[rshay]

What's the difference between piace and picciono both mean likes

[Rae.F]

The verb conjugates to the subject. In this sentence, "gli elefanti" is the subject. For more details, please read the other comments on this page.

https://i.imgur.com/8atYu1Y.png

[gbs.moraes98]

Why is "Allo ragazzo..." wrong?

[Rae.F]

Because it's il ragazzo, not lo ragazzo.

Rules for the definite article:

https://i.imgur.com/aJ7Qlgb.jpg

Rules for the indefinite article:

Masculine

https://i.imgur.com/ioiRcSS.png

Feminine

https://i.imgur.com/7WZMfoO.png