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Conjugation Chart

“Pagar” (to pay) in the Preterite (Past) Tense

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Understanding the Preterite (Past) Tense of “Pagar”

The preterite of pagar is used to express a specific payment made in the past. For example, you might say “I paid the bill last week,” indicating a completed transaction at a particular moment.

This verb requires a spelling change in the first person singular (yo) form of the preterite, where ‘g’ changes to ‘gu’ before ‘e’ to maintain the same sound. Otherwise, it follows regular -ar patterns.

How to Use Pagar in the Preterite (Past) Tense

The preterite of pagar describes a completed payment or transaction in the past.

To pay: Indicates a completed financial transaction, for example, Pagué la cuenta del restaurante (I paid the restaurant bill).

To pay off: Describes settling a debt completely, for example, Por fin pagó toda su deuda (Finally he/she paid off all their debt).

To reward/compensate: Used for indicating compensation for services, for example, Me pagaron bien por el trabajo (They paid me well for the work).

Real Life Examples of Pagar in the Preterite (Past) Tense

Pagué la cuenta del restaurante. (I paid the restaurant bill.)

¿Pagaste el alquiler a tiempo? (Did you pay the rent on time?)

Ella pagó en efectivo. (She paid in cash.)

Pagamos las entradas por adelantado. (We paid for the tickets in advance.)

Los clientes pagaron con tarjeta de crédito. (The customers paid with a credit card.)

Pagué demasiado por este teléfono. (I paid too much for this phone.)

¿Cuánto pagaste por el taxi? (How much did you pay for the taxi?)

La empresa pagó los bonos navideños. (The company paid the Christmas bonuses.)

Pagamos la hipoteca este mes. (We paid the mortgage this month.)

Los estudiantes pagaron la matrícula. (The students paid the tuition.)

Pagué las facturas pendientes. (I paid the pending bills.)

Mi hermano pagó la multa. (My brother paid the fine.)

Pagamos el seguro del carro. (We paid the car insurance.)

¿Pagaste la cuota mensual? (Did you pay the monthly fee?)

El inquilino pagó el depósito. (The tenant paid the deposit.)

Conjugation Chart with English Translations

Conjugations of Pagar (to pay) in the Preterite (Past) Tense (Latin American Spanish) with English Translations:

This post covers Latin American Spanish. For Castilian Spanish, click here

Synonyms

The Preterite tense is also known as the Simple Past, Past Simple, Definite Past, Absolute Past, or Past Tense Indicative in English, and as Pretérito Perfecto Simple, Pretérito Indefinido, Pretérito Simple, Pasado Simple, or Pretérito de Indicativo in Spanish.