Infinitive (imperfective): плати́ть — "to pay (as a process / habitually / to be paying)" Infinitive (perfective): заплати́ть — "to pay (one completed payment)" Type: a regular second-conjugation pair with a т → ч consonant mutation in the 1sg — and a famous stress homograph
плати́ть / заплати́ть is an everyday verb that hides two teaching points. First, it shows a consonant mutation: in the first-person singular only, the т of the stem turns to ч, giving плачу́ — and that single form is identical in spelling, but not in stress, to пла́чу "I cry" (from пла́кать). Second, its government is unusual for English speakers: you pay for something with за + accusative (заплати́ть за биле́т), and you pay the recipient in the dative. Get the mutation and the prepositions right and this verb is otherwise tame. Stress is marked on every form, because both the mutation and the homograph turn on it.
Present tense — плати́ть only (т → ч in the 1sg)
Only the imperfective плати́ть has a present. It is a normal second-conjugation verb, except for the т → ч mutation in the я-form. After that mutation, the stress retreats from the ending to the stem (пла́тишь, пла́тит…), a very common second-conjugation pattern.
| Person | плати́ть — PRESENT | Note |
|---|---|---|
| я | плачу́ | т → ч, end-stressed |
| ты | пла́тишь | plain т; stress retreats to пла́- |
| он / она́ / оно́ | пла́тит | — |
| мы | пла́тим | — |
| вы | пла́тите | — |
| они́ | пла́тят | 2nd-conj. -ят ending |
The т → ч mutation hits the 1sg only; every other form keeps plain т. This is the same mutation you see in other -тить verbs — плати́ть → плачу́, встреча́ть-relative встре́тить → встре́чу, шути́ть → шучу́. As the imperfective, плати́ть describes paying as a habit, an ongoing arrangement, or a process — "pays regularly, is paying, foots the bill."
Я всегда́ плачу́ ка́ртой, нали́чных у меня́ нет.
I always pay by card, I don't carry cash. — 1sg плачу́ (т→ч, end-stress); a habit, imperfective.
Ско́лько ты пла́тишь за кварти́ру в ме́сяц?
How much do you pay for the flat per month? — пла́тишь (plain т, stress retreated); a standing arrangement.
Фи́рма пла́тит сотру́дникам два́жды в ме́сяц.
The company pays its staff twice a month. — пла́тит + dative сотру́дникам; a regular arrangement.
Past tense
A regular gender-marked past off the -и- stem, fixed stress on -ти́- throughout — no shifts, no end-stressed feminine here.
| Gender / number | плати́ть (impf) | заплати́ть (pf) |
|---|---|---|
| masculine | плати́л | заплати́л |
| feminine | плати́ла | заплати́ла |
| neuter | плати́ло | заплати́ло |
| plural | плати́ли | заплати́ли |
The aspect contrast: плати́л views paying as a process, a habit, or repeated payments ("was paying / used to pay / kept paying"); заплати́л views it as one completed payment with a result ("paid [and the bill is settled]"). For a single finished "I paid," reach for the perfective заплати́л.
Я заплати́л за у́жин и мы ушли́.
I paid for dinner and we left. — perfective заплати́л: one completed payment with a result.
Она́ заплати́ла за всех, никого́ не спроси́в.
She paid for everyone without asking anyone. — feminine заплати́ла; one completed act.
Ра́ньше мы плати́ли за свет ка́ждый ме́сяц нали́чными.
We used to pay the electricity bill in cash every month. — плати́ли, a repeated past habit (imperfective).
Future tense
The pair forms its future the two standard ways.
- плати́ть (imperfective) → compound future: бу́ду плати́ть "I'll be paying / will keep paying."
- заплати́ть (perfective) → simple future with the same т→ч mutation in the 1sg: заплачу́ "I'll pay (once)."
| Person | плати́ть → бу́ду плати́ть | заплати́ть → simple future |
|---|---|---|
| я | бу́ду плати́ть | заплачу́ |
| ты | бу́дешь плати́ть | запла́тишь |
| он / она́ / оно́ | бу́дет плати́ть | запла́тит |
| мы | бу́дем плати́ть | запла́тим |
| вы | бу́дете плати́ть | запла́тите |
| они́ | бу́дут плати́ть | запла́тят |
The perfective заплачу́, запла́тишь… запла́тят carries the same mutation (1sg заплачу́, т→ч) and the same stress retreat as the present of плати́ть; it looks like a present but means the future, since заплати́ть is perfective. The everyday "I'll pay" is the perfective заплачу́ — one upcoming payment. Reserve бу́ду плати́ть for "I'll keep paying / I'll be paying [regularly]."
Не волну́йся, за биле́ты заплачу́ я.
Don't worry, I'll pay for the tickets. — заплачу́: one planned future payment (perfective).
С э́того ме́сяца я бу́ду плати́ть за интерне́т сам.
From this month I'll pay for the internet myself. — бу́ду плати́ть: ongoing future payments (imperfective).
Imperative
| Addressee | плати́ть (impf) | заплати́ть (pf) |
|---|---|---|
| ты (informal) | плати́ | заплати́ |
| вы (formal / plural) | плати́те | заплати́те |
Both imperatives are end-stressed and regular. The perfective заплати́(те) asks for one specific payment ("pay for this / settle up"), while the imperfective плати́(те) is more general or insistent ("pay / keep paying"), and is the form for negated commands ("don't pay").
Заплати́ за парко́вку, пока́ не пришёл штраф.
Pay for the parking before you get a fine. — perfective заплати́: one specific payment.
Не плати́ наперёд, э́то риско́ванно.
Don't pay in advance, it's risky. — negated command takes the imperfective плати́.
Participles and verbal adverbs
| Form | плати́ть (impf) | заплати́ть (pf) |
|---|---|---|
| present active participle | платя́щий "(one) paying" | — (perfectives have none) |
| past active participle | плати́вший | заплати́вший |
| past passive participle | — | запла́ченный "paid (for)" |
| verbal adverb | платя́ "while paying" | заплати́в "having paid" |
The perfective passive participle запла́ченный ("paid") shows the т → ч mutation in its stem too — запла́ченные нало́ги "taxes that have been paid." The verbal adverb заплати́в ("having paid") is useful in writing. These are largely (literary / written).
Заплати́в по счета́м, он почу́вствовал себя́ свобо́дным.
Having paid off his bills, he felt free. — verbal adverb заплати́в (literary), 'having paid'.
Key uses & collocations
1. за + accusative — the thing you pay FOR
This is the core construction and the most important point of government. To name what you are paying for, use за + accusative: плати́ть за биле́т, за у́жин, за кварти́ру, за свет "to pay for the ticket / dinner / flat / electricity." The preposition за governs the accusative here in its "in exchange for" sense — the same за used in покупа́ть за and меня́ть за. The mechanics of за and the other accusative prepositions are on the accusative with prepositions page.
Кто заплати́л за такси́?
Who paid for the taxi? — за + accusative (за такси́), the thing paid for.
Мы пла́тим за двои́х дете́й в де́тском саду́.
We pay for two children at the nursery. — за + accusative (за двои́х дете́й).
2. The dative — the person you pay
The recipient of the payment goes in the dative, with no preposition: плати́ть рабо́чим, официа́нту, прода́вцу "to pay the workers / the waiter / the seller." Compare the structure with other recipient-marking datives on the dative indirect object page. You can combine both frames: заплати́ть ма́стеру (dative) за ремо́нт (за + accusative) "to pay the workman for the repair."
Заплати́те ма́стеру за рабо́ту, пожа́луйста.
Please pay the workman for the job. — ма́стеру (dative recipient) + за рабо́ту (за + accusative thing).
3. плати́ть + instrumental — the means of payment; idioms
The means of payment can appear in the instrumental: плати́ть нали́чными "to pay (in) cash," плати́ть ка́ртой "to pay by card." The verb also anchors common idioms: плати́ть добро́м за добро́ "to repay kindness," плати́ть втридо́рога "to pay through the nose."
Здесь мо́жно плати́ть то́лько нали́чными.
You can only pay in cash here. — нали́чными, instrumental of means.
Common Mistakes
❌ Я плати́ за обе́д. / Я пла́тю за обе́д.
Wrong 1sg — the я-form mutates т → ч: плачу́. There is no *плати́ or *пла́тю in standard Russian.
✅ Я плачу́ за обе́д.
I'm paying for lunch.
❌ Я заплати́л биле́т. / Я заплати́л биле́та.
Government error — you pay FOR a thing with за + accusative: заплати́л за биле́т. The bare accusative or genitive of the thing is wrong.
✅ Я заплати́л за биле́т.
I paid for the ticket.
❌ Я заплати́л официа́нта.
Case error — the person you pay takes the DATIVE, not the accusative: заплати́л официа́нту. The accusative официа́нта would read as 'paid the waiter [as a price/object]'.
✅ Я заплати́л официа́нту.
I paid the waiter.
❌ Я пла́чу за свет ка́ждый ме́сяц. (meaning: I pay, not I cry)
Stress trap — end-stressed плачу́ = 'I pay'; stem-stressed пла́чу = 'I cry'. For paying you need плачу́.
✅ Я плачу́ за свет ка́ждый ме́сяц.
I pay the electricity bill every month.
❌ За́втра я бу́ду заплати́ть за кварти́ру.
Aspect error — the бу́ду future needs an imperfective infinitive. The perfective makes its own future: заплачу́ (no бу́ду).
✅ За́втра я заплачу́ за кварти́ру.
Tomorrow I'll pay for the flat.
Key Takeaways
- плати́ть is a second-conjugation verb with т → ч in the 1sg only: плачу́ / пла́тишь / пла́тит / пла́тим / пла́тите / пла́тят (stress retreats after the mutation).
- Stress trap: end-stressed плачу́ = "I pay"; stem-stressed пла́чу = "I cry." Only the stress distinguishes them.
- No perfective present. заплачу́ looks like a present but is the future (perfective заплати́ть), and carries the same т→ч mutation.
- Past: плати́л (process/habit/repeated) vs заплати́л (one completed payment) — fixed stress on -ти́-, no end-stressed feminine.
- Future: imperfective compound бу́ду плати́ть; perfective simple заплачу́ (the everyday "I'll pay").
- Government: pay FOR a thing with за + accusative (заплати́ть за биле́т); pay the PERSON in the dative (заплати́ть официа́нту); the means in the instrumental (плати́ть ка́ртой).
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