Breakdown of Je paie la facture et je prends le reçu.
je
I
et
and
prendre
to have (a meal/drink) / to take
payer
to pay
la facture
the invoice, bill
le reçu
the receipt
Questions & Answers about Je paie la facture et je prends le reçu.
Why is "I pay" spelled je paie instead of je paye?
Payer (to pay) is a stem-changing verb. For verbs ending in -yer, the y changes to an i in the je, tu, il/elle/on, and ils/elles forms. Note that for payer specifically, both je paie and je paye are technically accepted in French, but je paie is much more common and follows the standard rule you are learning.
What is the difference between la facture and le reçu?
Why does je prends end in an "s"?
While regular -er verbs don't have an "s" in the je form, prendre (to take) is an irregular -re verb. Its singular present tense forms keep the "d" from the infinitive and add specific endings: je prends, tu prends, and il/elle prend.
Why is there a little hook under the "c" in reçu?
That mark is called a cedilla (cédille). In French, the letter "c" normally makes a hard "k" sound when it comes before an "a", "o", or "u". The cedilla forces it to make a soft "s" sound instead. Without it, reçu would be pronounced "re-koo". Fun fact: reçu is also the past participle of the verb recevoir (to receive).
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