Je veux payer pour le repas aujourd'hui.

I want to pay for the meal today.

Breakdown of Je veux payer pour le repas aujourd'hui.

• je: I
• vouloir: to want
• aujourd'hui: today
• pour: for
• le repas: the meal
• payer: to pay

Questions & Answers about Je veux payer pour le repas aujourd'hui.

Why does the sentence use Je veux instead of something like Je voudrais?

Je veux means "I want," which is a direct and stronger way to express your desire. Je voudrais means "I would like," which sounds more polite or less direct. Both forms are acceptable for expressing the intention to pay, but they convey slightly different tones.

Why do we say pour le repas rather than pour repas?

In French, nouns typically need an article, so here it's the definite article le. This makes it pour le repas ("for the meal") rather than pour repas, which would sound incomplete in French.

Is it also common to say payer l’addition in a restaurant?

Yes, payer l’addition ("pay the bill") is very common. Payer pour le repas emphasizes paying for the overall meal, while payer l’addition focuses on the restaurant check itself. Both are correct, but each has a slightly different nuance.

Do we always place aujourd’hui at the end of the sentence?

Not necessarily. Aujourd’hui can appear at the beginning or somewhere in the middle of a sentence. The placement in Je veux payer pour le repas aujourd’hui is natural, but you could also say Aujourd’hui, je veux payer pour le repas, which is just as correct.