"Pagar algo" or "pagar por algo"?

Question

Hola. I'm confused about the use of "pagar" meaning to pay for something. In the dictionaries pagar = to pay, to pay for. E.g. Is "pagó la comida con un cheque " interchangeable with "pagó por la comida con un cheque "? (Meaning: he paid for the meal with a cheque)

welcome to the forum, :) - 006595c6, Jul 30, 2017

Answer 1

Hello Davyjo,

A very good (intelligent, well thought-out) question!

You asked:

"Pagar algo" or "pagar por algo"? Hola. I'm confused about the use of "pagar" meaning to pay for something. In the dictionaries pagar = to pay, to pay for. E.g. Is "pagó la comida con un cheque " interchangeable with "pagó por la comida con un cheque "? (Meaning: he paid for the meal with a cheque)

To pay/ pay for something you would use: pagar algo not pagar por algo

ex: He paid the bill then he left the restaurant! = ¡Pagó la cuenta entonces salió el restaurante!

If you pay something like a bill in a restaurant / hotel, it is already understood and implied that you are paying for the food, and service may also be included! In this example you would just say

Pagó la cuenta = He paid the bill. You would not need the words: la comida

You would only need to use pagar algo por algo if you were talking about paying for something in exchange for something else!

example 1: "¿Y pagaste $500 por esa poquería? = You paid $500 (dollars) for that piece of junk? (Example: Oxford English /Spanish dictionary!)

ex 2:¡Pagué solo cincuenta dólares por ese perro y ya es mi mejor amigo! = I paid only fifty dollars for that dog and he is already my best friend!

I hope this helps

Corrijan mi español si es necesario, por favor

Gracias. Would " he paid for all the books" =" pagó todos los libros"? - Davyjo77, Jul 30, 2017

Davy, please reread my post and then decide for yourself whether your example is pay / pay for! - FELIZ77, Jul 30, 2017

Davy, you need to think about the context: What amount did he pay for the books? - FELIZ77, Jul 30, 2017

if it is an actual amount of money in exchange for some goods or services, which set of examples would you use: the first set or the second set? - FELIZ77, Jul 30, 2017

Gracias. I'm trying to understand it....so "he paid for all the books" is simply "pagó todos los libros".But "he had $100 and he paid for all the books"= "tuvo $100 y pagó por todos los libros" . Es correcto? - Davyjo77, Jul 30, 2017

Davy, sorry , when I said above that you must decide if it is pay or pay for, I really meant you have to choose between the options of : to pay for / to pay " in exchange for " I hope this makes it clearer! - FELIZ77, Jul 30, 2017

Davy: as I said in my post above, to pay/ to pay for = pagar. Like paying a bill! If one of the people says I will pay you (example $100) in exchange for something then you would use pagar ....(amount) por (what you received in EXCHANGE!) - FELIZ77, Jul 30, 2017

Sorry, I cannot make it any clearer Perhaps somebody else here could help to explain it better! - FELIZ77, Jul 30, 2017

Ok. Muchas gracias. - Davyjo77, Jul 30, 2017

Davy: What I usually do in situations like this is read the entire dictionary entry for pagar. You can almost always figure out the correct usage from the example sentences. - DilKen, Jul 30, 2017

Never thought about it but it looks like a good explanation. - polenta1, Jul 30, 2017

Thank you, Polenta ;) I just hope that I am saying the same as Heidi but using different words :) - FELIZ77, Aug 1, 2017

Answer 2

Gracias. I'm trying to understand it....so "he paid for all the books" is simply "pagó todos los libros".But "he had $100 and he paid for all the books"= "tuvo $100 y pagó por todos los libros" . Es correcto? - Davyjo77

Dav, no, this is not correct.

You pay for a service.

Se paga por la limpieza de la casa.

se paga por una comida.

But a direct payment, to buy something is simply pagar.

Pagué los libros.

pago a mi asistenta.

Mis alumnos me pagan las clases.

Gracias Heidita - Davyjo77, Jul 30, 2017