Can you explain the difference between “mi piace” and “mi piacciono” in Italian?

La veste mi piace. - I like the dress. (The dress pleases me).

Contrary to English “I like it", “mi piace” is not a personal expression with “I" as the subject. In Italian the subject and object are transposed — “mi piace" literally means “it pleases me". The verb is third person singular.

A couple of examples:

Has Great Britain ever been considered a "hyper-power" like the United States or Russia are currently considered? If not, why?

The direct object pronoun “mi" is the object of the verb “piacere" (to please). Also known as conjunctive, such pronouns generally precede the verb that governs them. The expression “mi piace", employing third person singular format, translates literally to English as “it (understood) pleases me", i.e. I like it.

The endings of verbs indicate person and number in Italian and subject pronouns may therefore be omitted except when necessary for clearness or emphasis. In the case of “it" and “they" (referring to things) they are almost never used.

From discussion thus far you might already have understood that “mi piacciono" employs the third person plural form of the verb and translates as “they (understood) please me”, i.e. I like them.

Do people really never face any hidden costs or surprises with surgeries in countries with single-payer healthcare like the NHS?

Thank you for your question.

Le scarpe mi piacciono. - I like the shoes. (The shoes please me.)