Depois de pagar o boleto, meu saldo ficou menor do que eu esperava.

After paying the bill slip, my balance became lower than I expected.

Breakdown of Depois de pagar o boleto, meu saldo ficou menor do que eu esperava.

• eu: I
• meu: my
• depois de: after
• pagar: to pay

Questions & Answers about Depois de pagar o boleto, meu saldo ficou menor do que eu esperava.

Why is it depois de pagar and not depois pagar?

Because depois normally takes the preposition de before a verb in the infinitive.

• depois de pagar = after paying
• depois de comer = after eating
• depois de sair = after leaving

So the pattern is:

depois de + infinitive

If a full clause follows, you can also use:

• depois que eu paguei o boleto = after I paid the bill

Both are correct, but depois de + infinitive is very common and compact.

What exactly does boleto mean in Brazilian Portuguese?

Boleto is short for boleto bancário, a very common Brazilian payment slip. It is used to pay things like:

• utility bills
• online purchases
• school fees
• subscriptions
• rent in some cases

A boleto usually has a barcode, a due date, and an amount to be paid. In English, there is no perfect one-word equivalent, so depending on context it may be translated as:

• bill
• payment slip
• bank slip

So in this sentence, pagar o boleto means paying that bill/payment slip.