Metto sempre la ricevuta nel portafoglio subito dopo aver pagato.

I always put the receipt in my wallet right after paying.

Breakdown of Metto sempre la ricevuta nel portafoglio subito dopo aver pagato.

• io: I
• mettere: to put
• in: in
• dopo: after
• sempre: always
• il portafoglio: the wallet
• pagare: to pay
• la ricevuta: the receipt
• subito: immediately

Questions & Answers about Metto sempre la ricevuta nel portafoglio subito dopo aver pagato.

What is the implied subject of the sentence "Metto sempre la ricevuta nel portafoglio subito dopo aver pagato"?

The verb metto is the first person singular form of mettere (“to put”). In Italian, the subject “I” is usually omitted because the verb ending already indicates that the speaker is talking about themselves.

What role does the adverb sempre play in this sentence?

Sempre means “always” and it indicates that the action happens habitually. It shows that the speaker consistently puts the receipt in their wallet every time they pay.

How is the phrase subito dopo aver pagato constructed and what is its function?

The phrase is made up of subito dopo (“immediately after”) followed by the compound infinitive aver pagato (“having paid”). This construction expresses the timing of actions—specifically, that the act of putting the receipt in the wallet happens right after the action of paying is completed. Using the infinitive allows Italian speakers to convey a completed preceding action in a concise way.

Why is aver pagato used instead of a fully conjugated subordinate clause?

In Italian, time-related clauses following expressions like subito dopo often use the infinitive construction rather than a conjugated clause. Aver pagato is a compound infinitive (with the auxiliary avere and the past participle pagato) that efficiently communicates the idea of “after having paid” without the need for an explicit subject or a more elaborate clause.

What is the significance of the articles and prepositions in la ricevuta and nel portafoglio?

The noun ricevuta (“receipt”) is feminine, so it takes the article la. The noun portafoglio (“wallet”) is masculine; combined with the preposition in, it contracts to nel (which is in + il). These choices ensure the sentence agrees in gender and number as required in Italian grammar.

Can this sentence be rephrased while retaining its meaning? If so, how?

Yes, an equivalent way to express the sentence is: Appena ho pagato, metto sempre la ricevuta nel portafoglio. This alternative uses a conjugated clause (ho pagato) after appena (“as soon as”) to indicate the timing, but the overall meaning remains the same: the speaker always puts the receipt in their wallet immediately after paying.

How does the positioning of the temporal phrase affect the meaning in this sentence compared to English word order?

In Italian, placing the time-related phrase subito dopo aver pagato at the end of the sentence emphasizes that the main action (putting the receipt in the wallet) always follows immediately after the payment. While English might re-order or use different connectors (for example, “I always put the receipt in my wallet right after paying”), the Italian construction clearly outlines the sequence of events and is common in everyday speech.