Learn Hardcore Russian: Я оплатил счёт и решил заказать десерт. - I paid the bill and decided to order a dessert.

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?

Perfective aspect in Russian indicates that an action is completed or has reached its intended result.
• оплатил (perfective of оплачивать) = “I paid (and finished paying).”
• решил (perfective of решивать) = “I decided” (I reached a decision).
• заказать (perfective of заказывать) = “to order” (the act of ordering will be/finitely done).
Using perfective here tells us you’ve completed the payment, made up your mind, and are about to place the order.

Why is it решил заказать десерт instead of simply заказал десерт?

• заказал десерт just states the fact “I ordered dessert.”
• решил заказать десерт adds the nuance “I decided to order dessert,” emphasizing your decision-making process before the action.

What is the role of и in this sentence?

и is the coordinating conjunction “and,” linking two past actions in sequence:

Я оплатил счёт (“I paid the bill”)
решил заказать десерт (“I decided to order dessert”)

Why is десерт in its base form, and what case is it?

десерт here is the direct object of заказать, so it’s in the accusative singular. Because десерт is a masculine inanimate noun ending in a consonant, its accusative equals the nominative form.

Can I omit the pronoun я and just say Оплатил счёт и решил заказать десерт?

Yes. Russian allows dropping subject pronouns when the meaning is clear from context. Omitting я makes the sentence more colloquial or narrative in style, but including я adds clarity or emphasis on the speaker.