Event Structure

Headword

payBILL · платя

Language Bulgarian · плащам imperfective · платя perfective · direct object = the sum and the bill сметка · payee на + NP or dative clitic му/ѝ · goods за + NP · nouns have no case ending · изплащам / изплатя doubles the money

Arguments

Payer, sum, bill, goods, payee · Bulgarian cloth · working claim, revisable

The payer is the subject. The direct object is the sum, and it is also the bill сметка and the other document or due. A full noun has no case ending. The payee is not that object. It is на plus a noun, or a dative clitic му, ѝ, ми, ти. The goods or the item are за plus a noun. The clitic is the case the noun does not carry. One printed clause doubles the direct object: accusative ги with тие пари

Payer · subject of плащам, платя, изплащам, изплатя · РБЕ Всеки ученик плащаше · касиерът плащаше заплатите · the subject noun has no case ending

Amount · direct object, no case ending · РБЕ За книгата платих 5 лв. · По два лева на ден му плащаха · ще можеш ли да ги изплатиш тие пари · one object slot for the sum · the entries do not print a second bare object beside it

Bill · сметка is that same direct object in the bilingual collocation плащам сметка, glossed pay a bill · no preposition and no case · РБЕ’s сметка article, served from the one-volume dictionary, prints кажи ми сметката да ти платя · сметката is the object of кажи · ти is the dative of платя · that clause of платя has no bill object · Донесоха сметката за водата keeps за inside the noun

Other document or due · direct object on the same verbs · РБЕ плащали и рецептите · Ти ли ще плащаш глобата? · да плаща данъци · Платих си дълга · Δ Плащам заем · Δ Наемът плащам в долари · изплащаше полиците · да изплати първата вноска · плащаше заплатите · изплатим надниците

Payee · на + NP, or a dative clitic, not a bare noun object · РБЕ sense 2 of плащам defines на някого · плащаше на учителя си · плащат на нарочни жени · clitics му плащаха, Плащаше ѝ, да ми плаща хонорар, Не ѝ плащаха нищо, да ти платя · the bilingual entry prints някому · a bare accusative payee is unprinted · Келнер, плаща! is a vocative beside an intransitive imperative

Consideration · за + NP, the goods or the item · РБЕ За книгата платих 5 лв. · the bilingual entry glosses плащам as pay (за for) · sense 2’s header names за and a following noun, and the examples under that header do not fill the preposition · сметката за водата and Сметка за електричество keep за inside the noun · a за-phrase of the bill itself is unprinted

изплащам / изплатя · transitive · the money, the thing bought, the note, the installment, or the wage is the direct object · РБЕ sense 1: Плащам изцяло това, което купувам или давам, това, което дължа за нещо · изцяло is the dictionary’s word · да ги изплатиш тие пари doubles the money · да изплатят мерата · да си изплаща добитъка · не изплащало стоки и материали · sense 3 defines payment for work done and prints the wages as the object, изплащаше заплатите, изплатим надниците · на трудоден is printed and is not a person · the reflexive изплащам се takes the dative, ще му се изплатя, да ми се изплатиш, and prints no direct object

Clitic doubling · analytic nouns · the full noun has no case ending · accusative clitics are го and ги · dative clitics are му, ѝ, ми, ти · doubling of the direct object is printed: ги with тие пари · да го плаща and Не беше ги още изплатил are the clitic alone, with no full noun in the clause · a clause that doubles the payee, clitic and на plus a full noun together, is unprinted on the entries read

Aspect labels · плащам is несв., платя is св. · изплащам is несв., изплатя is св. · the separate articles of платя and изплатя are the cross-reference Вж. · из- stays on the verb · these are the dictionary’s labels · this page does not treat изцяло or из- as a claim about an endpoint

Means · not the bill · Δ Плащам в брой · Δ Плащам кеш · Δ Наемът плащам в долари · му плащаха в натура · в is the means

Where this frame diverges from English pay (a bill). English pay the bill makes the document the one object and brings the sum back as with or in. English pay someone can make the person a bare object. English pay for the book puts the goods under for. Bulgarian За книгата платих 5 лв. puts the book under за and puts the sum in the direct object, with no case ending and no with. The bill is that same kind of object in плащам сметка, not under за. сметката за водата keeps за inside the noun, the way a water bill names the water. The payee is на учителя си or ѝ / му, not a bare noun. Келнер, плаща! does not make the waiter an object. да ги изплатиш тие пари doubles the money. The noun пари still has no case ending.

Places · who wears which marking

The subject is the person who pays, when the clause has that subject. The direct object is the sum, the bill, or the other due. за is the goods. The payee is на plus a noun or a dative clitic. A full noun has no case ending. изплащам takes the money or the wage as that object, and one clause doubles the money.

плащам / платя · sum · за · payee

✓ За книгата платих 5 лв. РБЕ · за + the book · the sum is the direct object · no author line

✓ По два лева на ден му плащаха. РБЕ · Караславов · the sum is the object · dative му

✓ Всеки ученик плащаше на учителя си по шестдесет пари на месец. РБЕ · Талев · на + NP · the sum is the object

✓ Плащаше ѝ на парче. РБЕ · Пламенов · dative ѝ · на парче is the rate

✓ да ми плаща хонорар РБЕ · Грубешлиева · dative ми · the fee is the object

✓ Не ѝ плащаха нищо. РБЕ · Грубешлиева · dative ѝ stays · the object stays

✓ Той му плати да изчисти помещението. English Wiktionary · dative му · no sum and no bill in the clause

✓ Келнер, плаща! РБЕ · Незнакомов · vocative · intransitive · the bilingual gloss is waiter, the bill, please!

I paid 5 leva for the book · they paid him two leva a day · each pupil paid his teacher sixty para a month · she paid her by the piece · he would pay me a fee · they paid her nothing · he paid him to clean the room · waiter, the bill

Bill · document · debt · doubling

✓ плащам сметка Българо-английски речник · collocation · gloss pay a bill · the bill is the object · no за · no case

✓ кажи ми сметката да ти платя РСБКЕ · Вазов · сметката is the object of кажи · ти is the dative of платя

✓ Донесоха сметката за водата. РСБКЕ · за is inside the noun · not a clause of плащам

✓ Вие сте плащали и рецептите на някои бедни. РБЕ · Ангелов · the prescriptions are the direct object

✓ Ти ли ще плащаш глобата? РБЕ · Спасов · the fine is the direct object

✓ Платих си дълга и ми олекна. РБЕ · the debt is the direct object · no author line

✓ да ги изплатиш тие пари РБЕ · Влайков · ги doubles тие пари · the money has no case ending

✓ не изплащаше полиците РБЕ · Спасов · the notes are the direct object

✓ касиерът плащаше заплатите РБЕ · Полянов · the wages are the direct object

pay a bill · tell me the bill so I can pay you · they brought the water bill · you have paid the prescriptions · will you pay the fine · I paid my debt · will you pay off that money · he was not paying off the notes · the cashier was paying the wages

Places of Bulgarian bill-paying verbs: marking, what the sources print, and the English marking
PlaceIntroduced by (working)Bulgarian markingStatus in the sourcesEnglish
Payersubjectno case endingВсеки ученик · касиерътsubject of pay
Amountthe sumdirect object · no case ending · ги can double it5 лв. · два лева · тие пари · one object slotwith / in on the English bill page
Billсметкаdirect object in the collocation · no за · no caseплащам сметка · РБЕ prints no finite плащам сметката · сметката in Вазов is the object of кажи · сметката за водата keeps за inside the nounobject of pay the bill
Document or duethe thing oweddirect object · no case endingрецептите · глобата · данъци · дълга · полиците · заплатитеobject of pay the fine · pay a debt
Payeethe person paidна + NP, or dative му / ѝ / ми / тина учителя си · на нарочни жени · му · ѝ · някому · a bare noun payee is unprinted · doubling of the payee is unprinted · Келнер, плаща! is vocativepay someone can be a bare object
Goodsthe itemза + NPЗа книгата · the bilingual gloss is for · sense 2 names за and does not fill it · за of the bill is unprintedpay for the book · pay the bill does not put the bill under for

Marking map. Read the verb, then the phrase. плащам and платя take a caseless noun as the sum, the bill, or the due. They take за for the goods. They take на or a dative clitic for the payee. изплащам takes the money or the wage as that object, and ги can double the money.

EN ⇄ BG valency strip

Each row lines up one English slot with a Bulgarian slot. The alignment type says what happens to the slot: = (same object status), or shift (the English bare payee against на or a dative clitic, or the English with / in sum against the direct object). Printed lines come first. A constructed line reuses a printed marking. It is labelled constructed.

English–Bulgarian valency alignment for paying a bill, one row per argument
SlotEN formBG formAlignEN exampleBG example
Payersubject of paysubject · no case ending=Pat paid the invoice. English pageВсеки ученик плащаше РБЕ
Bill / Themeobject of pay the billdirect object сметка · other dues the same object= of the document in the collocation · РБЕ prints no finite плаща сметката · за of the bill is unprintedthe invoice English pageплащам сметка bilingual
Payeeobject of pay someoneна + NP or dative му / ѝshift · a bare noun payee is unprinted · Келнер, плаща! is vocativepay someone glossна учителя си · ѝ РБЕ
Amountwith / in on the bill pagedirect object · ги can double itshift · English keeps the sum in with / in beside the documentwith twenty dollars English page5 лв. · тие пари РБЕ
Considerationfor + thingза + NPthe preposition matches pay for · it does not match pay the bill, where the bill is the objectpay for the book glossЗа книгата РБЕ

The strip below is a set of small multiples. Each card holds one frame, with English on top and Bulgarian under it. The subject chip is the party the clause actually makes the subject.

BG · sum · за

5 лв. · книгата

pay an amount for something

За книгата платих 5 лв.

РБЕ · the sum is the direct object · за is the book · no case ending · no dative in the clause

RolesHide roles AmountGoods
Amount direct object · 5 лв. · no case ending Goods За книгата · a за of сметка is unprinted

Move English pay for the book matches За книгата. The English bill page keeps the sum in with or in. This clause puts the sum in the direct object. The sister page payGIVE · плащам left за as a packaging hypothesis. The noun here is printed.

BG · payee · на · му / ѝ

на учителя · ѝ

pay someone

плащаше на учителя си. Плащаше ѝ.

РБЕ · Талев · Пламенов · на + NP and the dative clitic are both printed · a bare noun payee is unprinted · the two are not doubled together

RolesHide roles PayerPayeeSum
Payer subject · Всеки ученик · no case ending Payee на учителя си · or dative му / ѝ · not a bare noun Sum direct object · по шестдесет пари · хонорар

Move English pay the teacher can use a bare object. This clause puts the teacher under на, or uses ѝ with no full noun. Келнер, плаща! does not make the waiter an object. The noun учителя has no case ending. The clitic is the dative.

BG · bill · сметка

сметка

pay the bill

плащам сметка

Българо-английски речник · collocation · the bill is the object · РБЕ prints да ти платя with a dative and no bill object

RolesHide roles BillPayee
Bill direct object · сметка · no case · no за · глобата and рецептите are the same slot in РБЕ Payee dative ти in да ти платя · the bill there is the object of кажи

Move English pay the bill matches the object сметка. English does not also make the sum that object. Bulgarian does, in 5 лв. сметката за водата is not this frame: за is inside the noun.

BG · изплащам · doubling

ги · тие пари

pay the money off

да ги изплатиш тие пари

РБЕ · Влайков · accusative ги doubles the money · the noun has no case ending · изцяло is the definition’s word

RolesHide roles AmountDue
Amount direct object · тие пари · doubled by ги · no case ending Due the same object · полиците · вноската · заплатите · надниците

Move English pay off the money has one object and no doubled clitic. This clause has the clitic and the full noun, and the noun still has no case. РБЕ’s изцяло stays the dictionary’s word. из- does not leave the verb. The reflexive ще му се изплатя has a dative and no object.

Examples

Argument difference. English pay the bill uses one bare object for the bill and keeps the sum in with or in. English pay someone can use one bare object for the person. Bulgarian плащам and платя use the direct object for the sum, the bill, and the due, за for the goods, and на or a dative clitic for the payee. изплащам uses that object for the money and can double it with ги. A full noun has no case ending.

Printed dictionary lines come first. A constructed line reuses a printed marking. It is labelled constructed.

Real · sum, за, payee, bill, doubling

✓ За книгата платих 5 лв. РБЕ · sum · за

✓ плащаше на учителя си по шестдесет пари РБЕ · на + NP · sum

✓ Плащаше ѝ на парче. РБЕ · dative ѝ

✓ плащам сметка bilingual · the bill is the object

✓ Ти ли ще плащаш глобата? РБЕ · the fine is the object

✓ да ги изплатиш тие пари РБЕ · doubling · no case on пари

✓ изплащаше заплатите РБЕ · the wages are the object

✓ ще му се изплатя РБЕ · Вазов · reflexive · dative · no object

✓ Келнер, плаща! РБЕ · vocative · intransitive

Constructed · the working frames

✓ Pat плаща сметката. constructed · bilingual плащам сметка · the article and Pat are not that collocation

✓ Pat плати 5 лв. за книгата. constructed · РБЕ За книгата платих 5 лв. · the subject Pat is not that line

✓ Pat плаща на учителя. constructed · РБЕ на учителя си · the printed subject is Всеки ученик

✓ Pat ѝ плаща. constructed · РБЕ Плащаше ѝ · Pat is not that citation

✓ Pat ги изплаща тие пари. constructed · РБЕ да ги изплатиш тие пари · the finite clause with Pat is not the citation

Pat pays the bill · Pat paid 5 leva for the book · Pat pays the teacher · Pat pays her · Pat pays off that money

Derivations · working sketches, revisable

Each sketch is a working drawing. The drawing gives the sum and the bill to the direct object, за to the goods, and на or the dative clitic to the payee. Open one sketch at a time. Which theta role is the object is the revisable note Causative templates and argument selection. This page does not edit that note.

Sum as object · за on the goods

One object slot · the sum · working, revisable

[ —
  [ √платя
     [ 5 лв. ]                      ← direct object
     [ За книгата ]]]               ← за + NP
                                      ← no case ending
                                      ← за of сметка
                                        is unprinted

The sum is the object. The book wears за. The line prints no dative, and it does not print the bill under за.

✓ За книгата платих 5 лв. РБЕ

Payee · на or му / ѝ

Not a bare noun · working, revisable

[ —
  [ √плащам
     [ по шестдесет пари ]
     [ на учителя си ]]]           ← sum = object
                                      ← на + NP

[ —
  [ √плащам
     [ ѝ ]]]                        ← dative clitic
                                      ← Плащаше ѝ
                                      ← payee doubling
                                        is unprinted

The teacher and the clitic are two printed markings of the payee. They are not printed together on one noun. The waiter in Келнер, плаща! is a vocative.

✓ на учителя си РБЕ

✓ Плащаше ѝ РБЕ

Bill · сметка is the object

The document · no за · working, revisable

[ —
  [ √плащам
     [ сметка ]]]                   ← bilingual
                                      ← pay a bill
                                      ← no case

[ —
  [ √кажи
     [ сметката ]]
  [ √платя
     [ ти ]]]                       ← Вазов
                                      ← the bill is
                                        not the object
                                        of платя

The collocation makes сметка the object. Вазов’s line makes сметката the object of кажи and ти the dative of платя. глобата and рецептите are the document object inside РБЕ.

✓ плащам сметка bilingual

✓ Ти ли ще плащаш глобата? РБЕ

изплащам · ги doubles the money

Clitic and full noun · no case on the noun · working, revisable

[ —
  [ √изплатя
     [ ги ]
     [ тие пари ]]]                 ← doubling
                                      ← no case ending
                                      ← изцяло is
                                        the definition

[ —
  [ √изплащам се
     [ му ]]]                       ← ще му се изплатя
                                      ← no object

The money is the object, doubled. The noun has no case ending. The reflexive takes the dative and prints no object. изцяло is the word in the definition. It is not a claim about an endpoint.

✓ да ги изплатиш тие пари РБЕ

✓ ще му се изплатя РБЕ

Notes

Working paper · October 2026 · Bulgarian micro-entry · Payment

платя and плащам take the sum and the bill as the direct object. The payee is на or му / ѝ. Goods are за. Nouns have no case ending. изплащам doubles the money.

BG micro-entry live Index 2 Payment · bill split sum and сметка object · на or dative clitic · за on the goods · clitic doubling EN bill live GIVE плащам live

Sense × language: payBILL · Bulgarian (платя / плащам, изплащам / изплатя). The direct object is the sum and the bill сметка. The payee is на + NP or a dative clitic му / ѝ. Goods are за + NP. A full noun has no case ending. ги doubles тие пари. изцяло is the dictionary’s word in the definition of изплащам. The aspect labels are несв. and св. Twins: English · Japanese · Mandarin · German · French · Spanish · Italian · Portuguese · Russian · Dutch · Polish · Hungarian. Sister sense: payGIVE · плащам. Index 2 cites плащам, превеждам and does not split this page from that one. Pointer: pay.

Open items

  • The direct object is the sum. РБЕ За книгата платих 5 лв. The book is за. The sum has no case ending. По два лева на ден му плащаха puts the sum in the object and the payee in му. по шестдесет пари is the same object beside на учителя си. English pay the bill keeps a sum like this in with or in.
  • The direct object is also the bill сметка. The Bulgarian–English dictionary prints the collocation плащам сметка, gloss pay a bill, and плащам полица, плащам дълг. No за and no case. РБЕ’s article of плащам does not print сметка. The сметка article prints Вазов кажи ми сметката да ти платя: the bill is the object of кажи, and платя has the dative ти and no bill object. Донесоха сметката за водата and Сметка за електричество keep за inside the noun. Pat плаща сметката is constructed.
  • The same object is the fine, the debt, the prescriptions, and the wages. Ти ли ще плащаш глобата? Платих си дълга. да плаща данъци. плащали и рецептите. касиерът плащаше заплатите. Δ Плащам заем. Δ Наемът плащам в долари names the rent and puts the dollars in в. да го плаща is the accusative clitic of the ticket, with no full noun in the clause.
  • The payee is на + NP or a dative clitic. Sense 2 defines Давам пари на някого за извършена работа. на учителя си. плащат на нарочни жени. Clitics: му, ѝ, ми, ти. The bilingual entry prints някому. English Wiktionary prints Той му плати with no object. A bare noun as the payee is unprinted. A doubled payee, clitic plus на and a full noun, is unprinted. Келнер, плаща! is vocative plus intransitive. The bilingual gloss is waiter, the bill, please!
  • Goods are за + NP. За книгата платих 5 лв. The bilingual gloss of плащам is pay (за for). Sense 2’s header says С предл. за и следв. същ. The examples under that header print the wage, the sum, and the payee, and they do not print за. A за-phrase whose noun is the bill is unprinted.
  • изплащам takes the money or the wage, and one clause doubles the money. The header is прех. Sense 1: Плащам изцяло това, което купувам или давам, това, което дължа за нещо. изцяло is that definition. да ги изплатиш тие пари. да изплатят мерата. да си изплаща добитъка. не изплащало стоки и материали. не изплащаше полиците. да изплати първата вноска. Не беше ги още изплатил is the clitic alone. Sense 3 prints изплащаше заплатите and изплатим надниците. на трудоден is not a person. ще му се изплатя and да ми се изплатиш are the reflexive with a dative and no object. The separate article of изплатя is Вж. изплащам.
  • The noun has no case ending. The clitic carries the case. книгата, 5 лв., учителя, глобата, пари do not inflect for case. Accusative го / ги and dative му / ѝ / ми / ти are the pronouns. Doubling is ги with тие пари. Under не the object and the clitic stay: Не ѝ плащаха нищо, не изплащало стоки, Не беше ги още изплатил. There is no genitive ending for не to write.
  • Aspect labels only. плащам, -аш, несв.; платя, -иш, мин. св. -их, св., прех. и непрех. изплащам is несв. and прех., изплатя is св. плаща и излиза is the intransitive. из- does not split. изцяло stays inside the definition. Senses 4–6 of плащам, the revenge and penalty lines, stay off the bill, and so do Wiktionary’s lines about crimes and insults.

Corpus filenames and sources checked

Dictionary frames: Речник на българския език (Институт за български език, БАН), online at ibl.bas.bg/rbe, for плащам, платя, изплащам, and изплатя. The сметка article on that site is served from Речник на съвременния български книжовен език, which is what the page itself names as its source. The Bulgarian–English dictionary as served at onlinerechnik.com, headword плащам, for the collocation плащам сметка and the gloss of за. English Wiktionary for one dative clause of платя and for the aspect label. The English document-object and the with / in instrument are the live page pay BILL · English. The sum on the sister page is pay GIVE · Bulgarian. A Δ before a РБЕ line is the dictionary’s mark on a line it composes. Constructed clauses reuse a printed marking. Pat is not a citation. A 501-verbs manual was not opened. rechnik.chitanka.info was not opened.

Records платя and плащам with the sum and the bill as the direct object, за for the goods, and на or a dative clitic for the payee. Records the noun as caseless and records ги doubling тие пари on изплащам. Records изцяло as the dictionary’s word.