Introduction
Pagar means «to pay». Pagar means to pay: the bill, the rent, by card, in cash. It is a regular -ar verb with one spelling change: before an e, the g becomes gu, so the yo preterite is pagué and the subjunctive is pague, keeping the hard g sound. It is a irregular -ar verb, so the tables below show you exactly how it behaves in every tense. On this page you will find the full conjugation of pagar in all thirteen tenses, notes on when to use each one, example sentences, the mistakes learners make most often, a ten-question quiz and answers to the questions students ask about this verb. For example: «Yo pago la cuenta todos los días.» — I pay the bill every day.
Quick facts
| Infinitive | pagar |
| English | to pay |
| Verb type | Irregular -ar verb |
| Gerund | pagando |
| Past participle | pagado |
| Auxiliary verb | haber |
Full conjugation tables
Gerund: pagando · Past participle: pagado
Present Indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | pago |
| tú | pagas |
| él/ella/Ud. | paga |
| nosotros/as | pagamos |
| vosotros/as | pagáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | pagan |
The present tense describes habits, facts and what is happening now. For pagar, the yo form is pago, as in «Yo pago» in the examples below. Use the present for routines («todos los días») and for general truths.
Preterite
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | pagué |
| tú | pagaste |
| él/ella/Ud. | pagó |
| nosotros/as | pagamos |
| vosotros/as | pagasteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | pagaron |
The preterite describes completed actions in the past — things that started and finished. «Ayer yo pagué» is the classic use. Do not confuse it with the imperfect: the preterite moves the story forward, one finished event at a time.
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | pagaba |
| tú | pagabas |
| él/ella/Ud. | pagaba |
| nosotros/as | pagábamos |
| vosotros/as | pagabais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | pagaban |
The imperfect describes the past as background: habits, descriptions and actions in progress. «De pequeño, yo pagaba» shows the habitual use. It sets the scene while the preterite reports what happened inside it.
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | pagaré |
| tú | pagarás |
| él/ella/Ud. | pagará |
| nosotros/as | pagaremos |
| vosotros/as | pagaréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | pagarán |
The future tense states what will happen. For pagar the future is built on the infinitive: «Mañana yo pagaré». It is also used for predictions and promises, and in spoken Spanish it often alternates with ir a + infinitive.
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | pagaría |
| tú | pagarías |
| él/ella/Ud. | pagaría |
| nosotros/as | pagaríamos |
| vosotros/as | pagaríais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | pagarían |
The conditional expresses what would happen: wishes, polite requests and hypothetical results. «Si tuviera más tiempo, yo pagaría» is the typical pattern. It shares its stem with the future and changes only the endings.
Present Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he pagado |
| tú | has pagado |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha pagado |
| nosotros/as | hemos pagado |
| vosotros/as | habéis pagado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han pagado |
The present perfect connects the past with the present: something that has happened, often today or recently. It is haber in the present plus the past participle: «Hoy yo he pagado». In Spain it is used for anything that happened today; in Latin America the preterite is often preferred.
Pluperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había pagado |
| tú | habías pagado |
| él/ella/Ud. | había pagado |
| nosotros/as | habíamos pagado |
| vosotros/as | habíais pagado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían pagado |
The pluperfect describes an event that happened before another past event: «Cuando llegué, ya había pagado». It is haber in the imperfect plus the past participle, and it is the tense for explaining what had already happened when something else took place.
Future Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habré pagado |
| tú | habrás pagado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá pagado |
| nosotros/as | habremos pagado |
| vosotros/as | habréis pagado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán pagado |
The future perfect looks back from a future point: by then, something will already have happened. «Para mañana, yo habré pagado» is the pattern — haber in the future plus the past participle. It is less common in speech but regular in formal writing.
Conditional Perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habría pagado |
| tú | habrías pagado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría pagado |
| nosotros/as | habríamos pagado |
| vosotros/as | habríais pagado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían pagado |
The conditional perfect expresses what would have happened: «Yo habría pagado si hubiera podido». It is haber in the conditional plus the past participle, and it is the tense for regrets and missed chances.
Present Subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | pague |
| tú | pagues |
| él/ella/Ud. | pague |
| nosotros/as | paguemos |
| vosotros/as | paguéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | paguen |
The present subjunctive appears after wishes, doubts, emotions and impersonal expressions: «Espero que él pague». The trigger is in the main clause; the subjunctive is the mood of uncertainty, desire and influence. Learn the yo form first — most of the table follows from it.
Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra forms)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | pagara |
| tú | pagaras |
| él/ella/Ud. | pagara |
| nosotros/as | pagáramos |
| vosotros/as | pagarais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | pagaran |
The imperfect subjunctive is the past partner of the present subjunctive, used after past-tense triggers and in si-clauses: «Si él pagara, todo sería distinto». The table above shows the -ra forms, the ones you will hear most often. There is also a less common -se set built on the same stem.
Imperative — Affirmative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | paga |
| él/ella/Ud. | pague |
| nosotros/as | paguemos |
| vosotros/as | pagad |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | paguen |
There is no yo form in the imperative — you cannot command yourself.
The affirmative imperative gives direct commands and instructions: «¡Paga!». There is no yo form — you cannot command yourself. The tú form is the one you will use with friends and family, and the usted form with people you address formally.
Imperative — Negative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | pagues |
| él/ella/Ud. | pague |
| nosotros/as | paguemos |
| vosotros/as | paguéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | paguen |
There is no yo form in the imperative — you cannot command yourself.
The negative imperative tells someone not to do something: «¡No pagues!». Unlike the affirmative imperative, the negative forms come from the present subjunctive, which is why they look different. Never use the affirmative form after no.
Example sentences
- Yo pago la cuenta todos los días. — I pay the bill every day.
- Mi hermana paga la cuenta mucho. — My sister pays the bill a lot.
- Ayer yo pagué la cuenta por la tarde. — Yesterday I paid the bill in the afternoon.
- De pequeño, yo pagaba la cuenta muchas veces. — As a child, I used to pay the bill often.
- Mañana yo pagaré la cuenta sin falta. — Tomorrow I will pay the bill without fail.
- Si tuviera más tiempo, yo pagaría la cuenta ahora mismo. — If I had more time, I would pay the bill right now.
- Hoy yo he pagado con tarjeta dos veces. — Today I have paid by card twice.
- Espero que él pague la cuenta pronto. — I hope he pays the bill soon.
- ¡Paga la cuenta ahora! — Pay the bill now!
- Ahora mismo estoy pagando la cuenta. — Right now I am paying the bill.
Common mistakes
1. Using the regular stem in the preterite
Wrong: pagé
Right: pagué
Pagar does not keep its infinitive stem here. The correct form is pagué; the regular-looking pagé is a form learners invent by applying the standard endings to the wrong stem.
2. Using the imperfect for a finished event
Wrong: Ayer yo pagaba la cuenta.
Right: Ayer yo pagué la cuenta.
Yesterday's finished action needs the preterite, pagué. The imperfect pagaba describes what used to happen or what was going on, not a single completed event.
3. Confusing it with a similar verb
Wrong: *Pago a la cuenta.
Right: Pago la cuenta.
Pagar takes a direct object with no preposition for the thing paid: pagar la cuenta. The a goes before a person: pagar al camarero.
4. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
Wrong: Espero que tú pagas la cuenta.
Right: Espero que tú pagues la cuenta.
After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: pagues, not the indicative pagas. Wishes, hopes and doubts all trigger this change.
5. Using the affirmative imperative after no
Wrong: No paga la cuenta.
Right: No pagues la cuenta.
Negative commands use the subjunctive-based forms: no pagues. The affirmative paga can never follow no.
Quiz
Test yourself on the forms above. Choose the correct answer, then check the key below.
1. What is the yo form of pagar in the present tense?
- (a) paga
- (b) pagamos
- (c) pagas
- (d) pago
2. What is the él/ella form of pagar in the preterite?
- (a) pagamos
- (b) pagaste
- (c) pagué
- (d) pagó
3. What is the nosotros form of pagar in the imperfect?
- (a) pagaba
- (b) pagabas
- (c) pagábamos
4. What is the tú form of pagar in the future tense?
- (a) pagaremos
- (b) pagará
- (c) pagarás
- (d) pagaré
5. What is the ellos form of pagar in the conditional?
- (a) pagaría
- (b) pagarían
- (c) pagarías
6. What is the yo form of pagar in the present perfect?
- (a) ha pagado
- (b) has pagado
- (c) he pagado
- (d) hemos pagado
7. After «Espero que…», what is the tú form of pagar?
- (a) pague
- (b) paguemos
- (c) pagues
8. What is the nosotros form of pagar in the imperfect subjunctive (-ra)?
- (a) pagara
- (b) pagáramos
- (c) pagaras
9. What is the gerund of pagar?
- (a) pagado
- (b) pagando
- (c) pagar
- (d) pago
10. What is the past participle of pagar?
- (a) pagado
- (b) pagando
- (c) pagar
- (d) pagué
Answer key
1. (d) pago — In the present, the yo form of pagar is pago. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
2. (d) pagó — In the preterite, the el form of pagar is pagó. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
3. (c) pagábamos — In the imperfect, the nosotros form of pagar is pagábamos. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
4. (c) pagarás — In the future, the tu form of pagar is pagarás. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
5. (b) pagarían — In the conditional, the ellos form of pagar is pagarían. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
6. (c) he pagado — In the present perfect, the yo form of pagar is he pagado. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
7. (c) pagues — In the present subjunctive, the tu form of pagar is pagues. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
8. (b) pagáramos — In the imperfect subjunctive, the nosotros form of pagar is pagáramos. The other options are the same tense but different persons.
9. (b) pagando — The gerund of pagar is pagando. It is used with estar for the progressive: «Estoy pagando».
10. (a) pagado — The past participle of pagar is pagado. It follows haber in all the perfect tenses: «he pagado».
Frequently asked questions
Is pagar regular or irregular?
No — pagar is irregular. The tenses that break the regular pattern are: . Learn those forms as a set, and use the regular pattern for the rest.
What are the gerund and past participle of pagar?
The gerund is pagando and the past participle is pagado. Use the gerund with estar for actions in progress («Estoy pagando») and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses («he pagado»).
What is the difference between pagar and cobrar?
Pagar and cobrar are often confused. Cobrar is to charge or to be paid; pagar is to pay.
How do I say «I pay» in Spanish?
Say «Yo pago». That is the yo form of the present tense, the form you need for talking about yourself right now.
Why does the spelling of pagar change?
Spanish spelling changes to keep the pronunciation of the stem. In pagar, the consonant changes before an e so the sound stays the same: the preterite yo is pagué, and the subjunctive follows the same pattern. It is a spelling rule, not a new sound.
Related links
- Practise this verb in one tense: pagar-present-tense
- More examples and a quiz: pagar-examples-and-quiz
- Browse all Spanish verbs: /spanish/
- Full list of irregular verbs: spanish-irregular-verbs
- Related verb: comprar
- Related verb: vender
- Related verb: usar
- Conjugate any verb: verb-conjugator
- Test yourself: verb-quiz