VERBONKSPlay freePay past tense and past participlepay · paid · paid
The past participle (the 3rd form) of pay is paid and the past simple is paid. The three forms are pay, paid, paid. Not "payed"! pay is an irregular verb, so it doesn't add -ed.
Pay in a sentence
I paid the dog in treats.
| Tense | Example |
|---|---|
| Present simple | I pay · she pays |
| Present continuous | I am paying · they are paying |
| Past simple | I paid · she paid · they paid |
| Past simple, negative | I didn't pay · she didn't pay |
| Past simple, question | Did you pay? · Did she pay? |
| Present perfect | I have paid · she has paid |
| Past perfect | I had paid |
| Future | I will pay |
Common mistakes with pay
✗ I payed✓ I paid✗ I didn't paid✓ I didn't pay✗ Did you paid?✓ Did you pay?✗ I have pay✓ I have paid
After didn't and in questions with did, use the base form. After have / has / had, use the past participle.
❓ Test yourself: 10-question quiz💸 pay runs with The Paid Gang
pay · paid · paid
The Paid Gang had a dream: become good citizens and just add -ed. But they could only afford a -d. "Payed"? "Sayed"? Never. They squeeze in the cheap ending: pay → paid, say → said, make → made, have → had, hear → heard. Watch the y: in the past it turns into an i, like a bad disguise.
🔎 How to spot one: Past and participle are twins ending in -d. A y becomes an i: pay → paid.
Irregular verbs come in gangs that change the same way. Learn one and you can guess the rest of the gang:
| Base | Past | Participle |
|---|---|---|
| pay | paid | paid |
| say | said | said |
| lay | laid | laid |
| make | made | made |
| have | had | had |
| hear | heard | heard |
Questions about pay
What is the past tense of pay?
The past simple of "pay" is "paid". Example: I paid the dog in treats.
What is the past participle of pay?
The past participle (3rd form, V3) of "pay" is "paid", as in "I have paid".
What are the 3 forms of pay?
V1 pay, V2 paid, V3 paid.
Is pay a regular or an irregular verb?
"pay" is an irregular verb: the past is not "payed" but "paid".
¿Cuál es el pasado y el participio de pay?
"pay" significa "pagar". Pasado: paid. Participio: paid.