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# pay

«pay» in Mova's school dictionary: **to give money for something you buy or for work done** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

verb (pay, pays, paid, paying); noun (pay)

### meaning for a pupil

1) To pay is to give money for something you buy or for work done. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pay/#m1)

2) Pay is the money a person gets for work. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pay/#m2)

3) To pay attention is to listen or look carefully. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pay/#m3)

4) To pay a visit is to visit. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pay/#m4)

### sense in the lessons

to give cents for things bought: what is paid leaves the payer's money; «pays N for each of K» is N × K; change is the money given minus the cost; phrases: «pay for», «pay back», «pay attention», «pay a visit», «pay off»

### examples

- How many cents does Tom pay? [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pay/#x1)
- Mia pays 5 cents for each apple. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pay/#x2)
- Ben paid 20 cents and got 4 cents back. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pay/#x3)
- Dad paid for our tickets. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pay/#x4)
- I'll pay you back tomorrow. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pay/#x5)
- Pay attention when the teacher is talking. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pay/#x6)
- Hard work will pay off. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pay/#x7)
- We paid a visit to Grandma on Sunday. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pay/#x8)

### note

Past: paid (not «payed»). What is paid leaves the payer's money: subtract. «pays N for each of K» is N × K. Trap: change given back is the paid money minus the cost. Safety: never share a bank card number or pay online without an adult.

### In the corpora

- [Overtime is working extra hours beyond the normal ones; sometimes it is paid at a higher rate, sometimes not paid at all.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/2-shifts-nights-and-other-ways-of-working/8/)
- [Some people go to work ill because they can't afford to lose the pay, which spreads germs to everyone else.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/2-shifts-nights-and-other-ways-of-working/12/)
- [At the other end of working life comes retirement, when people stop paid work for good.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/3-finding-a-job-and-getting-on/4/)
- [A promotion is a move up to a more senior job in the same organisation, usually with more responsibility and more pay.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/3-finding-a-job-and-getting-on/10/)
- [A pay rise is an increase in pay; some come each year, others have to be asked for.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/3-finding-a-job-and-getting-on/12/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «pay» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pay/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.