pay – English verb conjugation

English verb forms of pay

Nominal Forms

Infinitive: to pay
Participle: paid
Gerund: paying

Cognates

-

Indicative

Present

Ipay
youpay
he;she;itpays
wepay
youpay
theypay

Perfect

Ihave paid
youhave paid
he;she;ithas paid
wehave paid
youhave paid
theyhave paid

Past

Ipaid
youpaid
he;she;itpaid
wepaid
youpaid
theypaid

Pluperfect

Ihad paid
youhad paid
he;she;ithad paid
wehad paid
youhad paid
theyhad paid

Future

Iwill pay
youwill pay
he;she;itwill pay
wewill pay
youwill pay
theywill pay

Future Perfect

Iwill have paid
youwill have paid
he;she;itwill have paid
wewill have paid
youwill have paid
theywill have paid

Subjunctive

Present

Ipay
youpay
he;she;itpay
wepay
youpay
theypay

Perfect

Ihave paid
youhave paid
he;she;ithave paid
wehave paid
youhave paid
theyhave paid

Imperfect

Ipaid
youpaid
he;she;itpaid
wepaid
youpaid
theypaid

Pluperfect

Ihad paid
youhad paid
he;she;ithad paid
wehad paid
youhad paid
theyhad paid

Conditional

Present

Iwould pay
youwould pay
he;she;itwould pay
wewould pay
youwould pay
theywould pay

Perfect

Iwould have paid
youwould have paid
he;she;itwould have paid
wewould have paid
youwould have paid
theywould have paid

Imperative

youpay
weLet's pay
youpay

Progressive (Continuous) Forms

Indicative

Present

Iam paying
youare paying
he;she;itis paying
weare paying
youare paying
theyare paying

Perfect

Ihave been paying
youhave been paying
he;she;ithas been paying
wehave been paying
youhave been paying
theyhave been paying

Past

Iwas paying
youwere paying
he;she;itwas paying
wewere paying
youwere paying
theywere paying

Pluperfect

Ihad been paying
youhad been paying
he;she;ithad been paying
wehad been paying
youhad been paying
theyhad been paying

Future

Iwill be paying
youwill be paying
he;she;itwill be paying
wewill be paying
youwill be paying
theywill be paying

Future Perfect

Iwill have been paying
youwill have been paying
he;she;itwill have been paying
wewill have been paying
youwill have been paying
theywill have been paying

Conditional

Present

Iwould be paying
youwould be paying
he;she;itwould be paying
wewould be paying
youwould be paying
theywould be paying

Perfect

Iwould have been paying
youwould have been paying
he;she;itwould have been paying
wewould have been paying
youwould have been paying
theywould have been paying

Other

Verbs conjugated like 'pay'

againsay, appay, assay, belay, enlay, forelay, foresay, forlay, forsay, gainsay, inlay, interlay, lay, mislay, mispay, missay, outlay, outstay, overlay, overpay, etc. (List truncated at 20 verbs)

Verbs similar to 'pay'

apay, bay, day, fay, gay, hay, lay, may, nay, pad,

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

to give money, or other compensation, in exchange for goods or services
cough up, defray, do the needful, expend, foot the bill, fork out, fork over, lay out, pay the freight, pay up, pony up, quit, shell out, spend, stump up
compensate
refund, guerdon, indemnify, requite, recompense, disburse, reimburse, remunerate
return
repay, yield
retaliate
punish, repay, requite, revenge
suffer
resist, repel, reject, repudiate

Antonyms

to receive goods or services in exchange for money
barter, sell, steal, buy
to give money, or other compensation, in exchange for goods or services
buy, default, discharge, earn, levant, repudiate, steal, waive, welsh

Additional Information

Etymology

1. c.1200, "to appease, pacify, satisfy," from O.Fr. paiier (12c.), from L. pacare "to please, pacify, satisfy" (especially a creditor), from pax (gen. pacis) "peace." Meaning "to give what is due for goods or services" arose in M.L., was attested in Eng. by c.1225; sense of "please, pacify" died out in Eng. by 1500. Sense of "suffer, endure" (a punishment, etc.) is first recorded 1387. Payday first attested 1529. Payphone first attested 1936.
2. From Middle English payen, from Old French paiier (“pay”), from Medieval Latin pācāre (“to settle, satisfy”) from Latin pācāre (“to pacify”). In this sense, displaced native Old English ġield (“pay”) and ġieldan (“to pay”), whence Modern English yield. See: Middle English 'payen', Old French 'paiier', Latin 'pācō'.

Verbs referencing "pay"

Sranan pai, Scots Gaelic pàigh, Thai เปย์.

Sample Sentences

  • [...] each pupil; he will be charged with the actual cost of his board, which will not exceed two dollars per week; ’ a trifle more than eight shillings English; ‘and he will be credited with the amount paid for him by the state, or by his friends; also with his earnings over and above the cost of the stock which he uses; so that all his earnings over one dollar per week will be his own. By the third [...] (American Notes for General Circulation)
  • There is always a clerk 's office on the lower deck, where you pay your fare; a ladies ’ cabin; baggage and stowage rooms; engineer 's room; and in short a great variety of perplexities which render the discovery of the gentlemen 's cabin, a matter of some [...] (American Notes for General Circulation)
  • * * * * * One day, during my stay in New York, I paid a visit to the different public institutions on Long Island, or Rhode Island: I forget which. One of them is a Lunatic Asylum. The building is handsome; and is remarkable for a spacious and [...] (American Notes for General Circulation)
  • “ Is it possible ! astonishing ! from such a kind family ? ” “ Kind families get in debt, and the laws of _our_ country allow them to sell the child out of its mother's bosom to pay its master's debts, ” said George, bitterly. (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
  • “ Papa, do buy him ! it's no matter what you pay, ” whispered Eva, softly, getting up on a package, and putting her arm around her father's neck. “ You have money enough, I know. I want him. ” (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
  • All this passed in a moment, while trunks were being hustled off, hackman paid, and while a crowd, of all ages and sizes,—men, women, and children,—came running through the galleries, both above and below to see Mas’r come in. Foremost among them was a highly-dressed young [...] (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
  • Owing to Mr. Adolph's systematic arrangements, when St. Clare turned round from paying the hackman, there was nobody in view but Mr. Adolph himself, conspicuous in satin vest, gold guard-chain, and white pants, and bowing with inexpressible grace and suavity. (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
  • “Yes, that’s it. How can she?” St. Clare laughed, as he went into the passage. “ Halloa, here, what's to pay out here ? Here, you all—Mammy, Jimmy, Polly, Sukey—glad to see Mas’r ? ” he said, as he went shaking hands from one to another. “ Look out for the babies ! ” he added, as he stumbled over a sooty [...] (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
  • “ Come, Prue, ” said Dinah, “ let's look at your rusks. Here's Missis will pay for them. ” (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
  • [...] say, besides, that ours is the more bold and palpable infringement of human rights; actually buying a man up, like a horse,—looking at his teeth, cracking his joints, and trying his paces and then paying down for him,—having speculators, breeders, traders, and brokers in human bodies and souls,—sets the thing before the eyes of the civilized world in a more tangible form, though the thing done be, [...] (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
  • In his first televised address, he paid tribute to his mother (London Bridge is Down)
  • No more bending over. The Queen of Sheba. Say you already bought it ? Well, I paid down on it. (Sweet Dreams)
  • Most of the jobless would be busy with this work. These guys may be paid to spread rumors in the future. (Mr. Bachchan)