Can I say,

He paid / paid for the books at the counter. It costed him $15.

quote:

He paid / paid for the books at the counter. They cost him $15.

Only Paid for .

"Paid for the books" is accepted phrases, how about:

(a) He paid to the cashier for the books.

(b) He paid some money to the cashier (for the books).

(c) He paid John / paid to John some money (for his help).

(d) He paid for / to / paid cashier for the souvenirs.

(e) He paid for souvenirs to cashier.

(a) no. He paid the cashier for the books.

(b) yes, but not very natural.

(c) Yes to He paid John some money. No to He paid to John.

(d) No. He paid the cashier. And no preposition.

(e) No. But I could say He paid for the souvenirs at the cashier's.

Note the [B]apostrophe + s on that last sentence. Rachel or Richard might correct me if usage has changed (I don't live in an English-speaking country, so sometimes I find that usage has changed on me), but a cashier is a human. Cashier's is short for cashier's booth / check-out / stand -- whatever you call the place where the cashier is, which might vary from place to place.

You are correct, Okaasan. We would say 'cashier's,' meaning 'cashier's booth.'

We could also say just, 'cashier.'

And you are correct that the language is changing. We might even say: 'at the cashier,' referring to the station.
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There is the big question of when to use the possessive noun -- that is -'s --, or the noun modifier combination.

There have been several discussions of this topic on the Grammar Exchange.

http://thegrammarexchange.info...446041972#5446041972
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About the topic: With the verb 'pay,' the construction is:

pay (money) for something
pay (money) to someone
pay someone (money)for something

So your sentence, Vincent, has to fit into those constructions. Amy is correct.

Thanks, can I say,

(a) He went to the counter and paid to the cashier.

(b) He went to the counter and bought souvenirs from the cashier.

(c) He saw many beautiful souvenirs of the animals.

(a) He went to the counter and paid the cashier.

(b) Fine.

(c) He saw many beautiful souvenirs of the animals. This idea is unclear. Do you mean there were souvenirs that were in the forms of animals, like small, plastic alligators or sharks?

Yes, (c) is what you mean. So, do I write it correctly?

Can I say,

(1) He went to the counter and gave the cash to the cashier.

(2) He paid for the present to / at/from the cashier.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: bear_bear,

Yes, (c) is what you mean. So, do I write it correctly? Obviously not, or I wouldn't have had to question you. You should say something like He saw many beautiful souvenirs in the forms of animals.

Can I say,

(1) Fine.

(2) He paid the cashier for the present.

quote:

He saw many beautiful souvenirs in the forms of animals.

quote:

.

Hi Richard,

for the above sentence, cannot we say He saw many beautiful animal souvenirs?

Thank you,

Humam

Technically speaking, you can, Humam. But it's a very uncommon collocation. I don't think I've ever heard anybody refer to that kind of souvenir in that way. It would be much more common for a speaker to describe those souvenirs in complete phrases. For example,

He saw many beautifully made, small plastic animals like alligators, tigers, and whales that were sold as souvenirs.