payais

In a sentence

• Quand j'étais enfant, je payais souvent pour des bonbons au magasin.

  When I was a child, I often paid for candies at the store.

  The word 'payais' is used in the context of the imperfect tense to indicate an ongoing or habitual action in the past — paying for candies.

• Je remarquais qu'à chaque fois, je payais plus cher qu'avant.

  I noticed that every time, I was paying more than before.

  Here, 'payais' describes a progressive action occurring in the past as part of an observation — paying more at each instance.

• Si je vivais dans cette ville, je payais moins de taxes.

  If I lived in that city, I would pay less in taxes.

  In this usage, 'payais' expresses a hypothetical scenario in the past or present — paying less taxes under a conditional situation.