Voy a pagar en efectivo.

Both are grammatically correct and both can mean “I will pay.”

• Voy a pagar = “I’m going to pay”, a near future form.

  • Very common in everyday Latin American Spanish
  • Sounds natural and conversational

• Pagaré = also “I will pay”, but:

  • Sounds a bit more formal / distant / written
  • Used less often in casual speech in many Latin American countries

In most everyday situations like in a store or restaurant, voy a pagar en efectivo is the normal choice.

Voy a literally comes from ir a + infinitive:

• ir = to go
• voy = I go / I am going
• a = to
• pagar = to pay

Together, voy a pagar is a standard way to talk about the future:
ir a + infinitive = going to + verb in English.

So voy a pagar = “I’m going to pay / I will pay.”

No. In this future structure, the preposition a is required.

Correct:

• Voy a pagar en efectivo.

Incorrect:

• ❌ Voy pagar en efectivo.

Think of ir a + infinitive as a fixed pattern: you always need the a.

Both are correct:

• Voy a pagar en efectivo.
• Yo voy a pagar en efectivo.

In Spanish, the subject pronoun (yo) is usually optional because the verb ending (voy) already shows it’s “I”.

You add yo mainly for:

• Emphasis:
  
  • Yo voy a pagar en efectivo. = I will pay in cash (not someone else).
• Contrast:
  
  • Yo voy a pagar en efectivo, tú puedes pagar con tarjeta.

Both are understandable, but:

• En efectivo is the standard, idiomatic expression for “in cash.”
• Con efectivo is much less common and can sound odd in many places.

So, for payment in cash, use:

• pagar en efectivo
• cobrar en efectivo

By contrast, with cards you’ll often hear:

• pagar con tarjeta (de crédito / débito)

In this context, efectivo is a noun meaning “cash” (coins and bills).

• el efectivo = the cash
• No tengo efectivo. = I don’t have cash.
• ¿Aceptan efectivo? = Do you accept cash?

In en efectivo, it works like the English “in cash”.

Yes, but en efectivo is the most neutral and widely understood.

Other options you might hear:

• al contado

  • More formal / businesslike
  • Often contrasts with a crédito (on credit / in installments)
  • Lo voy a pagar al contado. = I’ll pay it in cash / in one lump sum.

• en metálico

  • Much more common in Spain, not typical in Latin America.

For everyday Latin American Spanish, stick to en efectivo.

You may hear people informally say “en cash” in some Spanglish contexts, but:

• It’s not standard Spanish.
• It can sound informal or out of place, depending on the country and situation.

If you want natural, correct Spanish, say en efectivo.

In this sentence, pagar is used without por because por is not needed.

Basic patterns:

1. pagar + direct object

   • Voy a pagar la cuenta. = I’m going to pay the bill.
   • Él pagó el hotel. = He paid for the hotel.

2. pagar por + something

   • Often used when you mention how much you paid or what you paid for in a more English-like structure:
   • ¿Cuánto pagaste por el coche? = How much did you pay for the car?
   • Pagó caro por su error. = He paid dearly for his mistake.

For means of payment (cash, card, etc.) we don’t use por:

• pagar en efectivo
• pagar con tarjeta

So pagar por en efectivo is incorrect.

Yes, but the neutral, most common order is:

• Voy a pagar en efectivo.

Other grammatically possible but marked options:

• En efectivo voy a pagar.
  
  • Sounds like you’re emphasizing “in cash”.
• Voy en efectivo a pagar.
  
  • Grammatically possible but unnatural in this context.

In real-life speech, keep en efectivo at the end.

It’s neutral and works in almost any situation:

• At a store
• In a restaurant
• At a hotel front desk
• With friends or strangers

If you want to be a bit more polite, you can add por favor:

• Voy a pagar en efectivo, por favor.

Yes, Voy a pagar en efectivo is perfectly understood and natural in both.

The main regional difference is with synonyms:

• In Latin America, en efectivo is standard.
• In Spain, en efectivo is also fine, and you may additionally hear en metálico.

But your sentence works everywhere.

Approximate pronunciation (Latin American):

• Voy → like boy in English
• a → like a in father
• pagar → pah-GAR (stress on -gar)
• en → like en in enter
• efectivo → eh-fec-TEE-vo (stress on -ti-: e-fec-TI-vo)

Joined more naturally:

[boi a pa-ˈɣar en e-fek-ˈti-βo]

Notes:

• v and b sound the same in Spanish.
• The r at the end of pagar is a quick tap, not like the English “rr.”

Efectivo is a singular masculine noun:

• el efectivo = the cash

In the fixed expression en efectivo, you normally don’t add the article:

• Voy a pagar en efectivo. ✔
• ❌ Voy a pagar en el efectivo. (incorrect here)

It’s similar to English: you say “pay in cash”, not “pay in the cash.”

Yes. You just place the object after pagar and keep en efectivo at the end:

• Voy a pagar la cuenta en efectivo.
• Voy a pagar el alquiler en efectivo. = I’m going to pay the rent in cash.

You can also add a pronoun:

• Voy a pagarla en efectivo. = I’m going to pay it in cash.
• La voy a pagar en efectivo. = same meaning, different pronoun position.