paid (for)

Question

Is for optional?Everything has been paid (for).Thanks

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

It rather depends on what "everything" is.

All the bills have been paid. (no 'for')
All the items in this bag have been paid for.

You pay a bill, an invoice, a fine, a tax.
You pay for groceries, furniture, electric service.

CJ

Anonymous · Answer

Short answer: Almost certainly not. Omitting the 'for' usually changes the meaning. Example:

"Have you paid for your car?" - "I have paid for my car." Here the 'for' is not optional. The sentence "I have paid my car" implies that your car is alive and you have given it money. Usually omitting the 'for' will lead to this sort of mistake.

Long answer: The 'for' is only used when the question you are answering uses a 'for'. Example:

"Did you pay the salesman?" - "I paid the salesman." - "The salesman has been paid."
"Did you pay the salesman for your car?" - "I paid the salesman for my car." - "The salesman has been paid for the car."
"Did you pay for your car?" - "I paid for my car. - "The car has been paid for."

The important thing is that who you are 'paying' and what you are 'paying for' are usually two different things. Above, you are 'paying' the salesman and 'paying for' the car. Grammatically, the person you are paying is the direct object, and the thing you are paying for is the indirect object. You are paying the salesman for the car.

There is one interesting exception: debts. When discussing debts, you should say "I paid my debts." or "My debts have been paid." without using a 'for'. This also applies to bills or other types of debt. I suppose this is because abstractly you are giving your money to the debt, although I am not sure.

Example, in a restaurant where a bill for a meal has been delivered:
"Did you pay for the meal?" - "I paid for the meal." - "The meal has been paid for."
"Did you pay the bill (for the meal)?" - "I paid the bill (for the meal)." - "The bill (for the meal) has been paid."

paid (for)

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