Pay your respects means show respect in person: go to a funeral, a memorial, or visit someone you admire. Pay your last respects means say goodbye to someone who has died. A video game gave us the meme Press F to pay respects, so people type F in chats to show sympathy.
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pay your respects to someone; pay your last respects
- Former pupils came to pay their respects to the retired headteacher.
- Visitors left flowers and paid their respects at the memorial.
- The family travelled overnight to pay their last respects to their grandfather.
What changed
First versionWe came to pay our respects for the former director.
RevisionWe came to pay our respects to the former director.
You do this for someone, so for seems natural. But the person is introduced with to: pay our respects to the former director. A place takes at: at the memorial.
Respect without s is a feeling or attitude: show respect for older people. Respects in the plural is a specific gesture: a visit, a bow, flowers. Pay tribute to means recognise someone's achievements, usually in a speech or an article.
Your turn
They came to pay their last ___ at the funeral.
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respects — The phrase about saying goodbye needs the plural respects: pay their last respects. Respect without s is an attitude.
Describe how people in a town honoured a well-known person. Use pay their respects.
Several former players returned to the stadium to pay their respects at the memorial.
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