Я оплатил счёт и решил заказать десерт.

I paid the bill and decided to order a dessert.

Breakdown of Я оплатил счёт и решил заказать десерт.

• я: I
• и: and
• десерт: the dessert
• заказать: to order

Questions & Answers about Я оплатил счёт и решил заказать десерт.

Why does оплатил счёт not use a preposition like “за” or “по”?

The verb оплатить is transitive and directly takes its object in the accusative case. You don’t need a preposition because оплатил already means “paid (off)” or “settled” something. If you said заплатил за счёт, that’s a slightly different construction: заплатить за + accusative means “to pay for” something.

What case is счёт in, and why does it look like the nominative form?

Here счёт is in the accusative singular. Since счёт is a masculine inanimate noun ending in a consonant, its accusative form is identical to the nominative. Russian has this rule for inanimate masculine nouns.

Why use оплатил instead of заплатил?

Both verbs mean “to pay,” but they have different nuances and government: • оплатить счёт specifically means “to settle/clear a bill or invoice.”
• заплатить (что/кому) is more general—“to pay (something or someone).”
In a restaurant context, оплатить счёт is more precise.

Why are the verbs оплатил, решил, and заказать all in their perfective forms?