Pre nego što platim iznos, proveriću obračun.

to pay

Breakdown of Pre nego što platim iznos, proveriću obračun.

• proveriti: to check
• pre nego što: before
• iznos: an amount

Questions & Answers about Pre nego što platim iznos, proveriću obračun.

What does pre nego što mean here?

It means before and introduces a subordinate clause.

So:

• Pre nego što platim iznos = Before I pay the amount

A useful thing to know is that pre nego što is a fixed expression. It is best learned as one unit, rather than translated word by word.

Why is it platim if the meaning is future?

Because in Serbian, after time expressions like pre nego što, kad, čim, and similar conjunctions, a future action is often expressed with the present tense, not the future tense.

So:

• pre nego što platim = before I pay
• not usually pre nego što platiću

This is very normal Serbian grammar. English uses present here too in many cases: Before I pay, I’ll check...

Why is it platim and not plaćam?

This is about aspect.

• platiti → perfective → to pay, as a single completed act
• plaćati → imperfective → to be paying / to pay repeatedly / habitually

Here the sentence refers to one completed payment, so platim from platiti is the natural choice.

Compare:

• Pre nego što platim iznos... = before I make that payment