Languages › French How to Conjugate the French Verb "Payer" (to Pay) Share Flipboard Email Print Tim Robberts / Getty Images French Grammar Pronunciation & Conversation Vocabulary Resources For Teachers By ThoughtCo Team Updated on February 21, 2020 When you want to say "to pay" in French, you'll use the verb payer. This is different than acheter, which means "to buy," though studying both is not a bad idea because they're both useful for expanding your French shopping vocabulary. You will also need to know how to conjugate these verbs. This lesson will walk you through the basic conjugations for payer so you can say things such as "I will pay" and "we paid" in French. The Basic Conjugations of Payer Payer is an optional stem-changing verb, which is common for words that end in -ayer. This means that in the present singular and all future tenses the y changes to an i in the verb's stem of pay-. However, this is optional, so you will notice two conjugations for each case where the stem may change. Use the chart to study and memorize the most basic conjugations of payer. You will match the subject pronoun to the appropriate tense for your sentence. For instance, "I am paying" is je paie or je paye and "we paid" is nous payions. Practicing these conjugations in context will help you commit them to memory. Luckily, there are many common expressions with payer, so you can use those include those in your studies. Present Future Imperfect je paiepaye paieraipayerai payais tu paiespayes paieraspayeras payais il paiepaye paierapayera payait nous payons paieronspayerons payions vous payez paierezpayerez payiez ils paientpayent paierontpayeront payaient The Present Participle of Payer There is no stem change when you form the present participle of payer. Instead, the -ant ending is added to the verb stem to produce payant. Payer in the Compound Past Tense In French, one of the most common compound past tenses is known as the passé composé. Rather than use the subject pronoun alone, you'll form it with the auxiliary verb avoir and the past participle payé. When constructing this, you'll conjugate avoir into the present tense that matches the subject, then attach the past participle. For example, "I paid" is j'ai payé and "we paid" is nous avons payé. More Simple Conjugations of Payer The conjugations above will be used most often, though there are a few more forms that you may need or encounter. Again, you'll notice the optional stem change in the subjunctive and conditional moods, so pay attention to those changes. You might not use these forms of payer often, though they can be useful. The subjunctive, for instance, says that the action may or may not happen. In a similar fashion, the conditional says that the action is dependent on another action. The other two—the passé simple and imperfect subjunctive—are used less often, though it is a good idea to at least be able to recognize them as a form of payer. Subjunctive Conditional Passé Simple Imperfect Subjunctive je paiepaye paieraispayerais payai payasse tu paiespayes paieraispayerais payas payasses il paiepaye paieraitpayerait paya payât nous payions paierionspayerions payâmes payassions vous payiez paieriezpayeriez payâtes payassiez ils paientpayent paieraientpayeraient payèrent payassent You might also find it useful to use the imperative forms of payer. These are reserved for short commands and requests and there's no need to include the subject pronoun. Rather than nous payons, you can simplify it to payons. Imperative (tu) paiepaye (nous) payons (vous) payez Cite this Article Format mla apa chicago Your Citation Team, ThoughtCo. "How to Conjugate the French Verb "Payer" (to Pay)." ThoughtCo, Apr. 5, 2023, thoughtco.com/payer-to-pay-1370614. Team, ThoughtCo. (2023, April 5). How to Conjugate the French Verb "Payer" (to Pay). Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/payer-to-pay-1370614 Team, ThoughtCo. "How to Conjugate the French Verb "Payer" (to Pay)." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/payer-to-pay-1370614 (accessed May 29, 2023). copy citation By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Cookies Settings Accept All Cookies