pagué
“pagué” means “I paid” in Spanish (Referring to a past financial transaction).
I paidAlso: I settled (the bill/account)
📝 In Action
Pagué el café y salí de la tienda.
A1I paid for the coffee and left the store.
¿Viste? Yo pagué toda la cena anoche.
A2Did you see? I paid for the whole dinner last night.
Pagué la multa inmediatamente para evitar problemas.
B1I paid the fine immediately to avoid problems.
Word Connections
Indicative
Present
Imperfect
Preterite
Subjunctive
Present Subjunctive
Imperfect Subjunctive
Translate to Spanish
Words that translate to "pagué" in Spanish:
✏️ Quick Practice
Quick Quiz: pagué
Question 1 of 1
Which sentence correctly uses 'pagué' to describe a completed event?
📚 More Resources
👥 Word Family
🎵 Rhymes
📚 Etymology
The verb 'pagar' comes from the Latin word *pacare*, which originally meant 'to pacify' or 'to make peace.' Over time, it evolved to mean 'to settle a debt' or 'to satisfy a creditor,' leading to its modern meaning of 'to pay.'
First recorded: Around the 13th century in Spanish.
Cognates (Related words)
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why does 'pagar' change to 'pagué' and not 'pagé' in the 'yo' past tense?
This is purely about keeping the right sound! In Spanish, 'ga' and 'go' have a hard sound (like the 'g' in 'go'), but 'ge' and 'gi' have a soft sound (like the 'h' in 'house' in Spanish). To keep the hard 'g' sound when followed by the vowel 'e', Spanish must add a silent 'u', making it 'gu' (pagué).
When should I use 'pagué' versus 'pagaba'?
'Pagué' (the preterite) is for actions that are finished and done (e.g., 'I paid the ticket yesterday'). 'Pagaba' (the imperfect) is for repeated or continuous actions in the past (e.g., 'I used to pay in cash,' or 'I was paying the bill when the phone rang').