Pagare Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Italian

pagare — to pay — is one of the verbs you will use every day in Italian. It is a non-reflexive, regular -are verb, and it comes up in conversation, at work and at home. It means to pay for something, and it is regular apart from its spelling: the -gare stem keeps its hard g by inserting h before e and i, so the tu form is paghi and the future is pagherò. On this page you will find pagare in real sentences, grouped by meaning and tense, two short texts that show it in context, the mistakes learners actually make with it, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself. The full conjugation tables are on the pagare conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the pagare present tense page.

Example sentences with pagare

In the present tense

  • “Io pago il conto ogni giorno.” — “I pay the bill”
  • “Tu paghi il conto ogni giorno.” — “You pay the bill”
  • “Lui paga il conto ogni giorno.” — “He pays the bill”
  • “Noi paghiamo il conto ogni giorno.” — “We pay the bill”
  • “Voi pagate il conto ogni giorno.” — “You pay the bill”
  • “Loro pagano il conto ogni giorno.” — “They pay the bill”

In the passato prossimo

  • “Io ho pagato il conto questa settimana.” — “I have paid the bill”
  • “Tu hai pagato il conto questa settimana.” — “You have paid the bill”
  • “Lui ha pagato il conto questa settimana.” — “He has paid the bill”
  • “Noi abbiamo pagato il conto questa settimana.” — “We have paid the bill”
  • “Voi avete pagato il conto questa settimana.” — “You have paid the bill”
  • “Loro hanno pagato il conto questa settimana.” — “They have paid the bill”

In other tenses

The same verb in the imperfect, the future, the conditional, the present subjunctive and the imperative — the tenses that complete the picture. All forms come from the verified tables.

  • “Io pagavo il conto una volta.” — “I used to pay the bill”
  • “Tu pagherai il conto domani.” — “You will pay the bill”
  • “Lui pagherebbe il conto un giorno.” — “He would pay the bill”
  • “È importante che noi paghiamo il conto.” — “It is important that we pay the bill”
  • “Paga il conto!” — “Pay the bill!”

How pagare is used

The first thing to know about pagare is its core meaning: to pay. It means to pay for something, and it is regular apart from its spelling: the -gare stem keeps its hard g by inserting h before e and i, so the tu form is paghi and the future is pagherò. In everyday speech it appears most often in the present and the passato prossimo, the two tenses on this page, because most of what we say is either what we do every day or what we have just done. Learn those two tenses first and the rest of the conjugation becomes a matter of adding forms one at a time. The second thing to know is the company pagare keeps. The present io form is pago, and it pairs naturally with the time words ogni giorno and sempre for habits, and with adesso for what is happening right now. The passato prossimo io form is ho pagato, and it pairs with ieri and questa settimana for finished actions. When you learn a verb form, learn its time words with it, and choosing the tense becomes automatic. The third thing to know is what pagare does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after io you need pago, never pagare. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the passato prossimo is ho pagato, built with avere, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle pagato is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Pagare in context

Io pago il conto ogni giorno. Tu paghi il conto ogni giorno. Lui paga il conto ogni giorno. Noi paghiamo il conto ogni giorno. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of pagare is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — pago, paghi, paga, paghiamo — while the meaning stays the same: to pay. Io ho pagato il conto questa settimana. Tu hai pagato il conto questa settimana. Lui ha pagato il conto questa settimana. Noi abbiamo pagato il conto questa settimana. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the passato prossimo of pagare appears constantly: a finished action, a precise moment, and the story goes on. Compare these sentences with the present ones above: the verb changes tense, but the basic meaning — to pay — does not change. That is the difference between a habit and a finished event.

Common mistakes

1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Io pagare il conto.”

✓ Right: “Io pago il conto ogni giorno.”

The infinitive pagare never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated present form pago.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Io paghi il conto.”

✓ Right: “Io pago il conto ogni giorno.”

paghi is the tu form, not the io form. The io form is pago — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Io pago il conto ieri.”

✓ Right: “Io ho pagato il conto questa settimana.”

Ieri points to the past, so use the passato prossimo ho pagato here, not the present pago.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Io sono pagato il conto.”

✓ Right: “Io ho pagato il conto questa settimana.”

pagare takes avere in the passato prossimo. The io form is ho pagato — the other auxiliary never belongs with this verb.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on pagare across the tenses. Answers with explanations follow each question.

  1. What is the tu form of pagare in the Present indicative?

    • A) pago
    • B) paghi
    • C) paga
    • D) paghiamo

  2. What is the io form of pagare in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?

    • A) hai pagato
    • B) ha pagato
    • C) ho pagato
    • D) abbiamo pagato

  3. What is the lui/lei form of pagare in the Imperfect?

    • A) pagavo
    • B) pagavi
    • C) pagavamo
    • D) pagava

  4. What is the noi form of pagare in the Future?

    • A) pagheremo
    • B) pagherò
    • C) pagherai
    • D) pagherà

  5. What is the tu form of pagare in the Conditional?

    • A) pagherei
    • B) pagheresti
    • C) pagherebbe
    • D) pagheremmo

  6. What is the io form of pagare in the Passato remoto?

    • A) pagasti
    • B) pagò
    • C) pagai
    • D) pagammo

  7. What is the noi form of pagare in the Present subjunctive?

    • A) paghi
    • B) paghiate
    • C) paghino
    • D) paghiamo

  8. What is the gerund of pagare?

    • A) pagando
    • B) pagato
    • C) pagare
    • D) pago

  9. What is the past participle of pagare?

    • A) pagando
    • B) pagato
    • C) pagare
    • D) pago

  10. What does pagare mean in English?

  • A) to sit down
  • B) to get dressed
  • C) to pay
  • D) to call

Answer key

  1. B) paghi — the correct form is paghi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) ho pagato — the correct form is ho pagato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) pagava — the correct form is pagava. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) pagheremo — the correct form is pagheremo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) pagheresti — the correct form is pagheresti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) pagai — the correct form is pagai. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) paghiamo — the correct form is paghiamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) pagando — the correct form is pagando. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) pagato — the correct form is pagato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to pay — the correct form is to pay. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does pagare mean in English?

pagare means “to pay”. You use it whenever you talk about to pay in Italian, in the present, the past and the future.

Is pagare regular or irregular?

pagare is regular. pagare is regular: every form follows the standard -are endings, so once you know the pattern you can build every tense from the stem.

What are the gerund and past participle of pagare?

The gerund is pagando and the past participle is pagato. The perfect tenses use avere + pagato.

Where can I see the full conjugation of pagare?

On the pagare conjugation page — every tense, every person, with tables. The pagare present tense page goes deeper into its most practised tense.

Pronunciation

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for pagare, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

Related pages