Pay back
“Pay back.”
This is a phrasal verb with a very straightforward meaning . When someone has given you money, and you return it, you pay that person back.
You can use this in a person-to-person situation . You can also use it with banks and big companies.
Pay a friend back
Let’s start with two friends. You make plans to go out for the evening with a friend. But you—and this is embarrassing —you forgot your wallet . You don’t have any money. Your friend might say to you, “Don’t worry; you can pay me back.”
That means, you can send the friend the money later. She’ll lend it to you for the night. She’ll pay the bills for the night. You can pay her back later.
This is a good phrase to use whenever someone gives you a little money, or spends money for you, and you intend to send the person money later. You pay that person back.
Now listen, imagine this is a moderately-priced meal and one or two drinks. That’s your night out. In this case, your friend might say, “I’ll take care of it; you don’t have to pay me back.” That means, you don’t have to send her the money. You’re friends; you do things every so often. There are other times for you to pick up the check .
“Pay someone back” means to send them money. In this case, your friend might say, “you don’t have to pay me back.” That means, “you don’t have to send me money.” But if you’re a good friend, you’ll pick up the check the next time.
Pay back a personal loan
A very common way to use “pay back” is with a loan. Start with a very simple loan among friends or relatives. Imagine you have a young relative who is just moving into his first apartment. He has a new job, but he doesn’t have enough money yet for a security deposit on his apartment. You might lend him $1,000 for the security deposit. He might agree to pay you back in three months, after he’s made a little money at his new job.
He would agree to return the money to you. He would send you money. He would pay back the loan.
Pay back a bank loan
That’s nice and friendly. But if you get a bank loan, things are a lot tighter . You don’t get to choose when and how to pay the loan back. If you buy a house and get a mortgage loan , you have to pay that loan back in monthly installments , every month. In the U.S., the most common type of mortgage loan is a thirty-year loan.
Most people don’t live in the same home for thirty years. But the agreement is that you pay the loan back over thirty years. If you move before then, you can sell the house and pay the rest of the money back to the bank all at once. Almost all U.S. mortgage loans can be prepaid like that without any penalty .
Pay back after damages
“Pay back” is something you can use if you cause damages to another person. If you harm someone else, and you cause that person to lose money, you might have to pay that person back.
Imagine that you park in a shared parking garage at home. And one day, you open your door quickly and dent the car next to you. The car’s owner has to pay $300 to get the dent repaired and re-painted . You probably should pay your neighbor back for that.
That’s not exactly a loan. But that person had to spend money because of you. And you should send that person money as compensation .
If you steal money, a court might require you to pay the money back. If you commit fraud at your job, and if (you wouldn’t do this!), but if you divert company money into your own bank account, a court might require you to pay the company back. You would have to send the company money, the same amount that you stole . And you’d have other problems besides that, too. But you’d at least have to pay the money back.
So that’s “pay back.” If someone pays for something for you, you can pay that person back later. If you lend someone money, that person can pay you back when they can. You can pay back a bank loan. And if you cause damages , you might have to pay another party back to cover the damages .
See you next time!
And that is all for us here at Plain English. Congratulations on making it to the end of lesson number 705. Remember, the full lesson content is at PlainEnglish.com/705. That includes the transcript, translations, exercises, and practice area. PlainEnglish.com/705.
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