Înainte de a plăti, solicitantul verifică taxa de autorizare.

Înainte de a plăti means before paying or before he/she pays.

This is a very common Romanian pattern:

• înainte = before
• de a + infinitive = a way to introduce an action

So:

• înainte de a plăti = before paying / before to pay
  (In natural English, we say before paying.)

Romanian often uses de a + infinitive after expressions like înainte.

Because that is the standard Romanian construction.

After înainte, Romanian normally uses:

• înainte de a + infinitive

So:

• înainte de a pleca = before leaving
• înainte de a semna = before signing
• înainte de a plăti = before paying

Here:

• de links înainte to the following clause
• a marks the infinitive verb

You should learn înainte de a as a set pattern.

Yes. Plăti is the infinitive of the verb a plăti = to pay.

In the sentence, it appears after de a, so the full structure is:

• de a plăti = to pay / paying in this kind of clause

The basic dictionary form is:

• a plăti = to pay

But after de, the a that belongs to the infinitive is still kept as part of the structure de a + verb.

Verifică is present indicative, 3rd person singular of a verifica = to check / to verify.

So:

• eu verific = I check
• tu verifici = you check
• el/ea verifică = he/she checks

In this sentence:

• solicitantul verifică = the applicant checks

Romanian often uses the present tense in procedural or instructional statements, just like English can:

• The applicant checks the fee before paying.

Because -ul is the definite article attached to the end of the noun.

Romanian usually puts the at the end of the noun, not as a separate word in front.

So:

• solicitant = applicant
• solicitantul = the applicant

This is a key feature of Romanian grammar.

More examples:

• bărbat = man

• bărbatul = the man

• document = document
• documentul = the document

Because taxa is the definite singular form of taxă.

• taxă = a fee / fee
• taxa = the fee

So:

• taxa de autorizare = the authorization fee

Just like with solicitantul, Romanian adds the definite article to the end of the noun.

For feminine nouns like taxă, the definite form is often -a:

• casă = house
• casa = the house

Romanian often expresses this kind of idea with:

• noun + de + noun

So:

• taxa de autorizare literally means something like the fee of authorization
• In natural English, that becomes the authorization fee

This pattern is extremely common in Romanian:

• cerere de înscriere = registration application
• formular de plată = payment form
• permis de conducere = driving license

So de often connects a noun to its type, purpose, or function.

Here it is best understood as a prepositional phrase with de, not as a genitive ending.

• taxa de autorizare = fee for authorization / authorization fee

Romanian can show possession or relation in different ways. In this sentence, de autorizare functions more like a label or classifier telling you what kind of fee it is.

So for a learner, the easiest way to read it is:

• taxa = the fee
• de autorizare = for authorization / authorization-related

Yes, absolutely.

Both word orders are natural:

• Înainte de a plăti, solicitantul verifică taxa de autorizare.
• Solicitantul verifică taxa de autorizare înainte de a plăti.

The meaning stays the same.

The version with Înainte de a plăti at the beginning gives more emphasis to the time sequence: first checking, then paying.

Because Înainte de a plăti is an introductory subordinate clause.

Romanian commonly uses a comma when a subordinate clause comes before the main clause:

• Înainte de a plăti, solicitantul verifică taxa de autorizare.

If the time clause comes after the main clause, the comma is often omitted:

• Solicitantul verifică taxa de autorizare înainte de a plăti.

So the comma here is normal and helpful.

Yes, that is also possible in many contexts.

For example:

• Înainte să plătească, solicitantul verifică taxa de autorizare.

This also means before paying / before he pays.

However, înainte de a + infinitive is especially common in formal, written, administrative, and instructional language, which fits this sentence very well.

So in this context, înainte de a plăti sounds very natural and appropriately formal.

In most administrative or official contexts, solicitantul means the applicant or the requester.

It comes from a solicita = to request / to apply for.

Depending on context, it could refer to:

• someone applying for a permit
• someone requesting a document
• someone submitting an official request

So applicant is usually the best translation here.

The special letters here are:

• Î / â = a central vowel, somewhat like a muted vowel sound not found exactly in English
• ă = a short neutral vowel, similar to the a in about
• ț does not appear here, but in general it sounds like ts
• ș does not appear here, but in general it sounds like sh

From this sentence:

• Înainte: the Î is that central Romanian vowel
• plăti: ă is like a schwa, similar to the a in sofa
• verifică: final ă has that same schwa-like sound

A rough English-friendly approximation would be:

• Înainte ≈ uh-NAIN-teh
• plăti ≈ pluh-TEE
• verifică ≈ veh-ree-FEE-kuh

These are only approximations, but they can help at first.

Yes, that is the natural interpretation.

• Înainte de a plăti, solicitantul verifică taxa de autorizare.

This means that the applicant is the one who checks the fee, and also the one who will pay.

Romanian does not repeat the subject inside de a plăti. The subject is understood from the main clause.

So the sentence is naturally read as:

• Before paying, the applicant checks the authorization fee.

Because Romanian often leaves out subject pronouns when the verb ending already shows the person.

Here, the noun solicitantul is explicitly present, so no pronoun is needed anyway:

• solicitantul verifică = the applicant checks

Even without the noun, Romanian often omits pronouns because the verb form carries enough information.

This is common in Romanian and many other Romance languages.

Both are possible, because a verifica can mean both to check and to verify.

In this sentence, checks is usually the more natural English choice:

• Before paying, the applicant checks the authorization fee.

But in a more formal or technical translation, verifies could also work:

• Before paying, the applicant verifies the authorization fee.

So the Romanian verb is flexible here.