From pay + -er (“subject of action”).
payer (plural payers)
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Inherited from Middle French payer, from Old French paiier, paier, from Latin pacāre (“pacify”).
payer
This is a regular -er verb as far as pronunciation is concerned, but as with other verbs in -ayer (such as payer and essayer), the <y> of its stem may optionally be written as <i> when it precedes a silent <e> (compare verbs in -eyer, which never have this spelling change, and verbs in -oyer and -uyer, which always have it; verbs in -ayer belong to either group, according to the writer's preference).
infinitive | simple | payer | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
compound | avoir + past participle | ||||||
present participle or gerund1 | simple | payant /pɛ.jɑ̃/ or /pe.jɑ̃/ | |||||
compound | ayant + past participle | ||||||
past participle | payé /pɛ.je/ or /pe.je/ | ||||||
singular | plural | ||||||
first | second | third | first | second | third | ||
indicative | je (j’) | tu | il, elle, on | nous | vous | ils, elles | |
(simple tenses) |
present | paye or paie /pɛj/ or /pɛ/ |
payes or paies /pɛj/ or /pɛ/ |
paye or paie /pɛj/ or /pɛ/ |
payons /pɛ.jɔ̃/ or /pe.jɔ̃/ |
payez /pɛ.je/ or /pe.je/ |
payent or paient /pɛj/ or /pɛ/ |
imperfect | payais /pɛ.jɛ/ or /pe.jɛ/ |
payais /pɛ.jɛ/ or /pe.jɛ/ |
payait /pɛ.jɛ/ or /pe.jɛ/ |
payions /pɛj.jɔ̃/ |
payiez /pɛj.je/ |
payaient /pɛ.jɛ/ or /pe.jɛ/ | |
past historic2 | payai /pɛ.je/ or /pe.je/ |
payas /pɛ.ja/ or /pe.ja/ |
paya /pɛ.ja/ or /pe.ja/ |
payâmes /pɛ.jam/ or /pe.jam/ |
payâtes /pɛ.jat/ or /pe.jat/ |
payèrent /pɛ.jɛʁ/ or /pe.jɛʁ/ | |
future | payerai or paierai /pɛj.ʁe/ or /pɛ.ʁe/ or /pe.ʁe/ |
payeras or paieras /pɛj.ʁa/ or /pɛ.ʁa/ or /pe.ʁa/ |
payera or paiera /pɛj.ʁa/ or /pɛ.ʁa/ or /pe.ʁa/ |
payerons or paierons /pɛj.ʁɔ̃/ or /pɛ.ʁɔ̃/ or /pe.ʁɔ̃/ |
payerez or paierez /pɛj.ʁe/ or /pɛ.ʁe/ or /pe.ʁe/ |
payeront or paieront /pɛj.ʁɔ̃/ or /pɛ.ʁɔ̃/ or /pe.ʁɔ̃/ | |
conditional | payerais or paierais /pɛj.ʁɛ/ or /pɛ.ʁɛ/ or /pe.ʁɛ/ |
payerais or paierais /pɛj.ʁɛ/ or /pɛ.ʁɛ/ or /pe.ʁɛ/ |
payerait or paierait /pɛj.ʁɛ/ or /pɛ.ʁɛ/ or /pe.ʁɛ/ |
payerions or paierions /pɛ.jə.ʁjɔ̃/ or /pe.jə.ʁjɔ̃/ or /pɛ.ʁjɔ̃/ or /pe.ʁjɔ̃/ |
payeriez or paieriez /pɛ.jə.ʁje/ or /pe.jə.ʁje/ or /pɛ.ʁje/ or /pe.ʁje/ |
payeraient or paieraient /pɛj.ʁɛ/ or /pɛ.ʁɛ/ or /pe.ʁɛ/ | |
(compound tenses) |
present perfect | present indicative of avoir + past participle | |||||
pluperfect | imperfect indicative of avoir + past participle | ||||||
past anterior2 | past historic of avoir + past participle | ||||||
future perfect | future of avoir + past participle | ||||||
conditional perfect | conditional of avoir + past participle | ||||||
subjunctive | que je (j’) | que tu | qu’il, qu’elle | que nous | que vous | qu’ils, qu’elles | |
(simple tenses) |
present | paye or paie /pɛj/ or /pɛ/ |
payes or paies /pɛj/ or /pɛ/ |
paye or paie /pɛj/ or /pɛ/ |
payions /pɛj.jɔ̃/ |
payiez /pɛj.je/ |
payent or paient /pɛj/ or /pɛ/ |
imperfect2 | payasse /pɛ.jas/ or /pe.jas/ |
payasses /pɛ.jas/ or /pe.jas/ |
payât /pɛ.ja/ or /pe.ja/ |
payassions /pɛ.ja.sjɔ̃/ or /pe.ja.sjɔ̃/ |
payassiez /pɛ.ja.sje/ or /pe.ja.sje/ |
payassent /pɛ.jas/ or /pe.jas/ | |
(compound tenses) |
past | present subjunctive of avoir + past participle | |||||
pluperfect2 | imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle | ||||||
imperative | – | – | – | ||||
simple | — | paye or paie /pɛj/ or /pɛ/ |
— | payons /pɛ.jɔ̃/ or /pe.jɔ̃/ |
payez /pɛ.je/ or /pe.je/ |
— | |
compound | — | simple imperative of avoir + past participle | — | simple imperative of avoir + past participle | simple imperative of avoir + past participle | — | |
1 The French gerund is usable only with the preposition en. | |||||||
2 In less formal writing or speech, these tenses may be found to have been replaced in the following way:
(Christopher Kendris , Master the Basics: French, pp. 77, 78, 79, 81). |
From Old French paiier.
payer
infinitive | simple | payer | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
compound | avoir + past participle | ||||||
present participle1 or gerund2 | simple | payant | |||||
compound | present participle or gerund of avoir + past participle | ||||||
past participle | payé | ||||||
singular | plural | ||||||
first | second | third | first | second | third | ||
indicative | ie (i’) | tu | il, elle | nous | vous | ilz, elles | |
(simple tenses) |
present | paye | payes | paye | payons | payez | payent |
imperfect | payois, payoys | payois, payoys | payoit, payoyt | payions, payyons | payiez, payyez | payoient, payoyent | |
past historic | paya | payas | paya | payasmes | payastes | payerent | |
future | payerai, payeray | payeras | payera | payerons | payerez | payeront | |
conditional | payerois, payeroys | payerois, payeroys | payeroit, payeroyt | payerions, payeryons | payeriez, payeryez | payeroient, payeroyent | |
(compound tenses) |
present perfect | present indicative of avoir + past participle | |||||
pluperfect | imperfect indicative of avoir + past participle | ||||||
past anterior | past historic of avoir + past participle | ||||||
future perfect | future of avoir + past participle | ||||||
conditional perfect | conditional of avoir + past participle | ||||||
subjunctive | que ie (i’) | que tu | qu’il, qu’elle | que nous | que vous | qu’ilz, qu’elles | |
(simple tenses) |
present | paye | payes | paye | payons | payez | payent |
imperfect | payasse | payasses | payast | payassions | payassiez | payassent | |
(compound tenses) |
past | present subjunctive of avoir + past participle | |||||
pluperfect | imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle | ||||||
imperative | – | – | – | ||||
simple | — | paye | — | payons | payez | — | |
compound | — | simple imperative of avoir + past participle | — | simple imperative of avoir + past participle | simple imperative of avoir + past participle | — | |
1 The present participle was variable in gender and number until the 17th century (Anne Sancier-Château , Une esthétique nouvelle: Honoré d'Urfé, correcteur de l'Astrée, p. 179). The French Academy would eventually declare it not to be declined in 1679. | |||||||
2 The gerund was held to be invariable by grammarians of the early 17th century, and was usable with preposition en, as in Modern French, although the preposition was not mandatory (Anne Sancier-Château , op. cit., p. 180). |
From Old French paiier, from Latin pācō, pācāre (“make peaceful, pacify, quiet, soothe; subdue”), from pāx (“peace”).
payer