Learn Hardcore Italian: Ricevo il resto dalla cassiera dopo aver pagato il pane. - I receive the change from the cashier after paying for the bread.

Ricevo is the first-person singular present tense of ricevere, which means “I receive.” In Italian, subject pronouns are often dropped because the verb ending itself (-o) tells you that the subject is io. Adding io is possible for emphasis, but it’s not required for clarity.

What does il resto refer to in this context?

Il resto literally means “the remainder.” In everyday Italian, il resto is the change you get back when you pay for something in cash.

Why is it dalla cassiera and not simply da cassiera or alla cassiera?

You need the definite article when you refer to a specific person’s role: la cassiera = “the cashier.” The preposition da + the article la contracts to dalla. This structure (da + [article] + noun) is how you say “from the [noun].” Using a would instead mean “to the cashier,” which doesn’t fit here.

How does dopo aver pagato work grammatically?

This is the past infinitive construction: dopo (“after”) + avere in the infinitive + past participle of a transitive verb. So dopo aver pagato = “after having paid.” The auxiliary avere agrees with pagato because pagare is transitive.

Could I say dopo che ho pagato instead of dopo aver pagato?

Yes. Dopo che ho pagato il pane is grammatically correct and means the same thing. The difference is stylistic:

dopo aver pagato is more concise and common in written language.
dopo che ho pagato is a full subordinate clause, often used in speech.

Why is there an article before pane (bread)? Could I say just dopo aver pagato pane?

In Italian, you normally use the definite article with general or mass nouns when you talk about a specific instance of them. Here, il pane is “the bread” you just bought. Omitting the article (pagato pane) sounds unnatural; you’d only drop it in very abstract or generic statements (e.g. “Mangio pane ogni giorno.” – “I eat bread every day.”).

Is there any change in meaning if I swap the word order to Dopo aver pagato il pane, ricevo il resto dalla cassiera?

No change in meaning. That word order is perfectly fine and often used to emphasize the time frame (“After having paid the bread, I get the change from the cashier”). Italian is flexible with adverbial phrases like dopo aver pagato il pane, so you can put it at the beginning or end for stylistic reasons.