Learn Hardcore Russian: Я плачу счёт в ресторане.

So я плачу means “I pay / I am paying”. The ending -у here is the 1st person singular present ending for this verb type:
я плачу, ты платишь, он платит, мы платим, вы платите, они платят.

How do I know that плачу here means “pay” and not “cry”?

Two different verbs share the same spelling in the 1st person:

платить → я плачу́ = I pay
плакать → я пла́чу = I cry

They differ by stress:

плачу́ (pay) – stress on the last syllable
пла́чу (cry) – stress on the first syllable

In a restaurant sentence with счёт (bill), the meaning must be “pay”, so it’s я плачу́ (счёт).

Why is there no word like “the” before счёт or ресторане?

Russian has no articles at all – no a/an and no the.

Definiteness is clear from context, not from a separate word. In a restaurant context, счёт is naturally understood as “the bill”, and в ресторане as “in the restaurant”.

If needed, Russians can add demonstratives for clarity or emphasis, e.g.:

я плачу этот счёт – I’m paying this bill
в этом ресторане – in this restaurant

Why does счёт look like the dictionary form; what case is it in?

The dictionary form счёт is nominative singular.
In the sentence, счёт is actually accusative singular (the direct object of плачу).

For masculine inanimate nouns, nominative = accusative in form:

Nom.: счёт – “(the) bill is on the table”
Acc.: плачу счёт – “(I) pay the bill”

So you recognize the accusative not by the ending here, but by the role in the sentence: it is what is being paid.

Why is ресторане in this form and not ресторан?

Ресторан is nominative singular (dictionary form).
Ресторане is prepositional singular, used with certain prepositions to talk about location.

After в (“in, at”) with a static location, masculine nouns usually take this -е ending:

в магазине (in the shop)
в доме (in the house)
в ресторане (in the restaurant)

So в ресторане = “in/at the restaurant.”

Why do we use в ресторане and not в ресторан here?

Russian distinguishes location vs direction:

в + prepositional = where? (location)
- я плачу счёт в ресторане – I pay the bill in the restaurant.
в + accusative = where to? (movement into)
- я иду в ресторан – I am going to the restaurant.

Since in your sentence nothing is moving into the restaurant (you’re just paying there), we use в ресторане.

Can I change the word order in this sentence?

Yes. Russian word order is relatively flexible. The most neutral version is:

Я плачу счёт в ресторане. (Subject–Verb–Object–Place)

Other options are possible, each changing the emphasis slightly:

В ресторане я плачу счёт. – Emphasizes “in the restaurant” (e.g. “In the restaurant, I pay the bill.”)
Счёт я плачу в ресторане. – Emphasizes “the bill” (e.g. contrast: “The bill I pay in the restaurant, other things I pay online.”)

All are grammatically correct; context decides which sounds most natural.

Can I drop the pronoun я?

Yes. The verb ending -у in плачу already shows it’s 1st person singular, so you can say:

Плачу счёт в ресторане.

This is natural in Russian, especially:

In short answers:
– Кто платит? – Плачу счёт в ресторане.
When the subject is obvious from context.

Including я is also perfectly normal; it just explicitly mentions the subject.

What aspect is плачу, and how would I say “I will pay the bill”?

Плачу is imperfective aspect, present tense.

To say “I will pay the bill”, Russians usually use a perfective verb:

Я заплачу счёт. – I will pay the bill (once, to completion).
Я оплачу счёт. – I will pay/settle the bill (also perfective, slightly more formal/official).

Imperfective future (process or repeated action) would be:

Я буду платить счёт. – I will be paying the bill / I’ll (generally) be the one who pays the bill.

So:

я плачу – I pay / I’m paying (now / regularly)
я заплачу / оплачу – I will pay (single completed future action)

Is there a difference between плачу счёт and оплачиваю счёт?

Both mean you are paying the bill, but there is a nuance:

плачу счёт – neutral, everyday; very natural in a restaurant context.
оплачиваю счёт (from оплачивать) – more formal or bookish, often used for:
- invoices, services, utility bills, official documents.

In casual speech at a restaurant, я плачу счёт (or я заплачу счёт) sounds more natural.
Я оплачу счёт is also correct, but sounds a bit more like “I will settle/cover the bill” in a careful or formal way.

Should there be a preposition like за before счёт?

With платить, Russian allows two main patterns:

платить что? (direct object)
- плачу счёт – pay the bill.
платить за что? (pay for something)
- платить за обед – pay for lunch
- платить за еду – pay for the food

So in your sentence, no preposition is needed: я плачу счёт is correct.

Be careful with за счёт – it is usually a set phrase meaning “at the expense (of)”:

Мы отдыхаем за счёт компании. – We are on vacation at the company’s expense.

What else can счёт mean outside a restaurant context?

Счёт is a very common word with several meanings, depending on context:

Bill / invoice:
- счёт за электричество – electricity bill
Account (bank, online):
- банковский счёт – bank account
Score (games, sports):
- счёт 2:1 – the score is 2–1
Count / counting:
- вести счёт – to keep count

In your sentence, restaurant context makes счёт = “the bill / the check”.

How is счёт pronounced, and what is the letter ё?

Счёт is pronounced approximately like “shchyot” in English transcription.

щ = a soft “sh” sound, longer than English sh
ё = a vowel similar to “yo” (always stressed)

Important note about ё:

It is often written as е in ordinary texts (without the dots), but still pronounced as ё.
In dictionaries and textbooks, you will usually see ё with dots, as in счёт.

So you may sometimes see счет, but it is still pronounced [счёт].

How would I say “I am paying the bill now” vs “I pay the bill (whenever we go out)” in Russian?

Russian usually uses the same verb form and relies on context or adverbs:

Сейчас я плачу счёт. – I am paying the bill now.
Обычно я плачу счёт в ресторане. – I usually pay the bill at the restaurant.

There is no special continuous form like English am paying; я плачу can mean both “I pay” and “I am paying”, depending on context.