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La bolletta dell’elettricità è arrivata ieri e devo saldarla entro domani.

La bolletta dell’elettricità è arrivata ieri e devo saldarla entro domani.
The electricity bill arrived yesterday and I have to pay it by tomorrow.
FromLesson 34inHardcore Italian

Questions & Answers about La bolletta dell’elettricità è arrivata ieri e devo saldarla entro domani.

What does bolletta mean in this context?
Bolletta is the Italian word for a bill or invoice, especially one you receive regularly for utilities (electricity, water, gas, etc.). It literally refers to the paper you get with the amount due and the payment details.
Why is it dell’elettricità and not della elettricità?
In Italian, when the preposition di meets the definite article l’ (used before a vowel), they contract to dell’. So di + l’ (of the) becomes dell’, giving dell’elettricità (“of the electricity”).
What does saldarla mean?
Saldare means to settle or to pay off a debt or an invoice. The suffix -la is the direct object pronoun referring back to la bolletta. So saldarla literally means “to pay it off”, i.e. to settle the bill.
Why is the pronoun la attached to saldare? Could I put it somewhere else?
When you have a modal verb (here devo) plus an infinitive (saldare), the object pronoun can either attach to the infinitive (devo saldarla) or precede the modal verb (la devo saldare). Both are correct, but attaching to the infinitive is more common in spoken and written Italian.
Why is the past participle arrivata feminine?
In compound tenses with essere, the past participle agrees in gender and number with the subject. Here the subject is la bolletta (feminine singular), so you say è arrivata, not arrivato.
What’s the difference between saldare and pagare?
  • Pagare is the general verb for to pay.
  • Saldare is more specific: to settle or to clear a debt or invoice completely.
    In everyday speech you can say pagare la bolletta, but saldare la bolletta sounds a bit more formal and precise.
What does entro domani mean?
Entro plus a time expression means by or within that time. So entro domani means “by tomorrow”, i.e. you must pay before the end of the day tomorrow.
Why is ieri placed after arrivata and not at the very beginning?
Italian word order is fairly flexible. Placing the time adverb after the verb (è arrivata ieri) is neutral and common. You could also say ieri è arrivata, which emphasizes “yesterday” more strongly, but both are correct.
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