The verb 'pay' in English and its thousand uses

From : https://www.esldirectory.com/blog/learning-english/pays-off-pay-off-take-payoff-pay-off-loans-phrasal-verb-confusion/

Howdy !

I've decided to write an entry about an interesting verb English : the verb 'pay', so please PAY attention.  

1. Pay = give money in exchange of goods

When we think of the verb 'pay', this is the first meaning that comes to our minds. However, we need to take into account that, unlike in Spanish, this verb needs the preposition 'for' in English. Thus you pay for a service, for electricity, for food,... Pay food.

When we include the person, the preposition is not necessary. It is only necessary when we mention the service. You can say : 'I have to pay my mother the money I owe her.' 

Do you understand ? It's not so complicated, is it ? Anyway, I'll explain it even further by showing two sentences : 

a) I have a party and I have to pay for a waiter.

b) I have to pay the waiter for the catering service. 

In a) the waiter is the service. In b), the waiter is the person, and the catering is the service. 

2. Metaphorical uses of 'pay'

The meaning of 'pay' goes beyond using money. Like in Spanish you can use it metaphorically to indicate that you are putting something important at stake. 

- Pay the price /pay the consequences of your actions

- You caused me a lot of problems and I will pay you back / I will repay you / You will pay. 

- Working as a teacher at a language school pays off (=is worth doing it)

3. Expressions with pay

However, in English the verb 'pay' is much more complex than in Spanish. Thus, you can use it in a great deal of usual expressions. You can pay with more things than money in English. 

- Pay attention / pay heed to... (formal)

- Pay a visit to someone

- Pay my respects to someone after a sudden loss.

- Pay my duties at work.

- Pay someone a call

- Pay a compliment to someone

- Pay tribute to an artist / pay homage to an important person.

4. Idioms with 'pay'

Apart from the examples in number 2, 'pay' is the main star of loads of idiomatic expressions. 

From : https://es.pinterest.com/pin/555561304010292431/?lp=true

- Pay through the nose : When you pay for an item much more than what is worth it. 

- Pay peanuts : When you pay for an item much less than what is worth it. 

- If you pay peanuts you get monkeys : That means that price is not the most important thing and when you pay incredibly low prices for something it is usually a low-quality product (=lo barato sale caro)

From : https://www.keepcalm-o-matic.co.uk/p/if-you-pay-peanuts-you-get-monkeys/

- Pay the piper / pay the fiddler= Accept the unpleasant consequences of one's actions. I didn't want to work in the morning, and now I have to pay the piper and work at the weekend. 

- Pay the freight = Pay for something that is not pleasant. The state has to pay the freight for cleaning the streets after the city's festivities. 

- Hit pay dirt = Finding something incredibly useful after a long search. I couldn't find any good restaurants around until I hit pay dirt and I found and incredibly good restaurant very near ! 

Well, as you can see, English gives far more importance to 'pay' than Spanish and it is interesting to see how they commonly use this verb in tons of expressions. 

P.S. If you are interested in deeply knowing some other English verbs, click on the links provided : the verb 'get'; the verb 'have'; the verb 'go'