Verb · regular -ar, one spelling change
pagar
to pay
The thing that catches people out
Regular, except that the g needs a u before an e to keep its sound: pagué, I paid. No word for for: pagar la cuenta, to pay the bill.
Present
What happens, and what is happening now.
| yo | pago | |
| tú | pagas | |
| él, ella, usted | paga | |
| nosotros | pagamos | |
| ellos, ustedes | pagan | |
| vosotros, Spain only | pagáis |
Preterite, the finished past
Something that happened and is over: yesterday, last year, once.
| yo | pagué | |
| tú | pagaste | |
| él, ella, usted | pagó | |
| nosotros | pagamos | |
| ellos, ustedes | pagaron | |
| vosotros, Spain only | pagasteis |
Imperfect, the background past
What used to happen, or was going on when something else happened.
| yo | pagaba | |
| tú | pagabas | |
| él, ella, usted | pagaba | |
| nosotros | pagábamos | |
| ellos, ustedes | pagaban | |
| vosotros, Spain only | pagabais |
Future
Will do. In conversation, ir a plus the verb is more common: voy a comer.
| yo | pagaré | |
| tú | pagarás | |
| él, ella, usted | pagará | |
| nosotros | pagaremos | |
| ellos, ustedes | pagarán | |
| vosotros, Spain only | pagaréis |
Present perfect
Have done. Used far more in Spain, where it covers today; most of Latin America uses the preterite there.
| yo | he pagado | |
| tú | has pagado | |
| él, ella, usted | ha pagado | |
| nosotros | hemos pagado | |
| ellos, ustedes | han pagado | |
| vosotros, Spain only | habéis pagado |
Other forms
The -ing form, the form that follows he, has and ha, and how to tell someone to do it.
| -ing form | pagando | |
| participle | pagado | |
| command, to tú | paga | |
| command, to usted | pague |
In a sentence
¿puedo pagar con tarjeta?
can I pay by card?
ya pagué
I already paid