Pagar (To Pay) — Full Conjugation

Pagar means to pay — and you'll use it every day: at the café (pago eu = I'll get this), at the supermarket checkout (paga com cartão?), with the plumber, with the tax office, at the toll gate. It's a first-conjugation (-ar) verb that is almost regular but carries a spelling twist: the g becomes gu before e to preserve the hard "g" sound. That gives you paguei (I paid), pague (subjunctive), and paguemos (let us pay / we pay — subjunctive) — while pagas, paga, pagamos, pagam keep the plain g because the following vowel is a or nothing phonetically problematic.

Pagar also has a double past participle, one of a handful of Portuguese verbs that do: pagado (regular) and pago (irregular). Modern EP strongly prefers pago in most contexts, even with ter — which sets the language apart from some older grammars.

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Present indicative — presente do indicativo

No spelling change here (endings start with -o, -as, -a, -amos, -am). Fully regular.

Imperfect indicative — pretérito imperfeito

Fully regular.

Preterite indicative — pretérito perfeito simples

The eu form shows the spelling change: paguei (not pagei). All other forms are regular.

Note the accent on pagámos (we paid) — European Portuguese writes this with an acute to distinguish it from the present pagamos (we pay).

Pluperfect indicative, simple — pretérito mais-que-perfeito simples

Pluperfect indicative, compound — pretérito mais-que-perfeito composto

With pagar, the compound tenses take pago as participle in modern EP. Tinha pago is the standard form; tinha pagado is accepted by older grammars but sounds heavy today.

Present perfect — pretérito perfeito composto

Simple future — futuro do indicativo simples

Future perfect — futuro perfeito

Conditional — condicional

Conditional perfect — condicional composto

Present subjunctive — presente do conjuntivo

Endings start with e, so every form carries the gu spelling. This is one of the two places (along with the 1sg preterite) where you must remember to insert the u.

Imperfect subjunctive — imperfeito do conjuntivo

Endings start with -sse, so no spelling change. Fully regular.

Future subjunctive — futuro do conjuntivo

Present perfect subjunctive — pretérito perfeito do conjuntivo

Pluperfect subjunctive — pretérito mais-que-perfeito do conjuntivo

Future perfect subjunctive — futuro perfeito do conjuntivo

Imperative — imperativo

The negative switches to the subjunctive gu stem.

Affirmative:

Negative:

Personal infinitive — infinitivo pessoal

Compound personal infinitive — infinitivo pessoal composto

Double participle: pagado vs. pago

Pagar has two past participles:

• pagado — regular form, rare in modern EP
• pago — irregular, the default in modern EP

Traditional grammars teach that pagado is used with ter/haver and pago with ser/estar. In practice, modern European Portuguese prefers pago everywhere — including with ter. Newspapers, television, and everyday speech all say tenho pago, já tinha pago, tem de ser pago. The form pagado still appears in older texts and some very formal writing, but choosing it in 2026 makes you sound stiff or old-fashioned.

• Já tenho pago todas as contas. = I've already paid all the bills. (modern EP)
• Está pago, pode ir. = It's paid, you can go.
• A fatura foi paga ontem. = The invoice was paid yesterday. (agrees: paga, feminine, because fatura is feminine)
• Tinha pago o aluguer na véspera. = I had paid the rent the day before.

When pago functions as an adjective (with ser, estar, or modifying a noun), it agrees in gender and number: pago, paga, pagos, pagas.

Usage — argument structure

Pagar takes a direct object (what is paid — the amount, the bill, the service) and an indirect object (the person paid to), introduced by a.

• Pago 10 euros pela refeição. = I'm paying 10 euros for the meal.
• Paguei a conta ao empregado. = I paid the bill to the waiter.
• Tens de pagar ao senhorio até ao dia 5. = You have to pay the landlord by the 5th.

Common patterns:

• pagar a conta — to pay the bill
• pagar em dinheiro / com cartão / por transferência — to pay in cash / by card / by transfer
• pagar ao balcão / na caixa — to pay at the counter / at the till
• pagar a pronto / a prestações — to pay upfront / in instalments
• pagar adiantado / à cabeça — to pay in advance / upfront
• pagar em espécie — to pay in kind

The idiom "Pago eu!" is a small ritual of Portuguese cafés and restaurants: when the bill comes, someone says it with a slight emphasis to claim paying. The present tense (pago) works as a commitment.

Pagar + preposition: por vs. a

These two prepositions do very different jobs with pagar, and mixing them up is a classic learner error.

• pagar por
  • thing = to pay for something (in exchange for it). Paguei cem euros por este casaco = I paid a hundred euros for this coat.
• pagar a
  • person = to pay someone (indirect object). Paguei ao eletricista = I paid the electrician.

So: por is tied to the thing (the exchange), a is tied to the person (the recipient).

You can combine them: Paguei cem euros *pela entrada ao porteiro* = I paid a hundred euros for the entry to the doorman.

Example sentences in context

Common mistakes

Key takeaways

• Pagar is a regular -ar verb with a spelling quirk: g → gu before e. That means paguei (not pagei) and all of pague, pagues, pague, paguemos, paguem.
• Pagar has a double participle. Modern EP uses pago almost everywhere — with ter, with ser/estar, and as an adjective. Pagado is archaic.
• When pago works as an adjective (with ser or estar), it agrees: paga, pagos, pagas.
• The argument structure is pagar
  • thing (+ por exchange) (+ a person): paguei cem euros pela entrada ao porteiro.
• Mind the accent in EP: 1pl preterite is pagámos (we paid), present is pagamos (we pay).
• Learn the set phrases: pagar em dinheiro / com cartão, pagar a pronto, pagar ao balcão, pago eu.