Learn Hardcore Spanish (Spain): Hoy pagamos la cuenta con tarjeta, no en efectivo. - Today we pay the bill with a card, not in cash.

For -ar verbs, 1st person plural looks the same in present and preterite: both are pagamos.
You rely on context:
- If you’re deciding or stating a plan: present meaning “Today we pay/are paying by card.”
- If you mean a completed action earlier today: in Spain it’s more natural to use the present perfect: Hoy hemos pagado la cuenta con tarjeta. Plain preterite Hoy pagamos… can be understood as past in context, but is less typical with “hoy” in Spain.
To disambiguate:
- Future/plan: Hoy vamos a pagar/pagaremos con tarjeta.
- Completed past: Hoy ya pagamos (colloquial), Hoy hemos pagado, or add a past-time marker: Esta mañana pagamos…, Ayer pagamos….

Why not use the present progressive: “Estamos pagando” for “we’re paying (today)”?

Estamos pagando means the action is in progress right now (e.g., card is in the reader at this moment).
For arrangements/plans, Spanish prefers simple present (Hoy pagamos), vamos a pagar, or future (pagaremos) rather than the progressive.

Why is it con tarjeta but en efectivo? What’s going on with the prepositions?

Means/instrument is typically expressed with con: pagar con tarjeta, cortar con cuchillo.
En efectivo is a fixed idiom meaning “in cash.” Keep en here; it’s a set phrase.
In Spain you’ll also hear:
- en metálico (very common) = in cash
- al contado = cash (not in installments)

Can I say “por tarjeta”, “a tarjeta”, or “en tarjeta”?

No. For card payments the natural phrasing is con tarjeta. The others sound wrong or odd.

When do I use por with pagar?

Use por to express the exchange/price: Pagué 20 euros por el libro.
Don’t use por for the thing you pay: say pagar la cuenta, not pagar por la cuenta.

Do I need to say tarjeta de crédito?

Tarjeta alone is fine and common in Spain; it covers both credit and debit unless you need to specify:
- tarjeta de crédito / tarjeta de débito
Paying by phone is pagar con el móvil (treated like paying by card in phrasing).

Why la cuenta and not el cuenta? Could I use factura?

Cuenta is feminine: la cuenta.
In restaurants/bars, la cuenta is the bill/check.
Factura is an invoice with tax details; ask for one if you need it: ¿Me puede hacer una factura?

Can I drop the article and say “pagamos cuenta”?

No. You normally need the article: pagar la cuenta. You could say pagar una cuenta in a different context (“pay a bill”), but at a restaurant it’s la cuenta.

Is the comma before “no en efectivo” necessary? Could I use sino?

The comma is recommended to mark the contrast, though not strictly required; it improves readability.
You can also recast it with no… sino…:
- Hoy no pagamos en efectivo, sino con tarjeta. (more explicit as a correction)

Can I move hoy to other positions?

Yes:
- Hoy pagamos la cuenta con tarjeta.
- Pagamos hoy la cuenta con tarjeta.
- Pagamos la cuenta con tarjeta hoy.
Starting with hoy is very natural when you want to frame the sentence by time.

Could I replace la cuenta with a pronoun?

Yes: Hoy la pagamos con tarjeta. (la = la cuenta)
For emphasis/focus you can duplicate: La cuenta la pagamos hoy con tarjeta. (not required, but possible for focus)

Is there any accent or spelling trap with pagamos?

No accent on pagamos (present or preterite).
Only the 1st person singular preterite changes spelling: pagué (to keep the hard g). This doesn’t affect pagamos.

Is “no en efectivo” a full clause?

It’s an elliptical negative phrase modifying the means of payment. Spanish allows no to negate a phrase, not just a full clause. The full version would be: Pagamos con tarjeta, no pagamos en efectivo.

Any other natural ways to say this in Spain?