Antes de salir, meto la tarjeta en la cartera.

Because after antes de in Spanish, you normally use an infinitive when the subject stays the same.

• antes de salir = before leaving / before I leave
• salir is the infinitive: to leave / to go out

So in this sentence, Antes de salir means Before leaving.

You would only use a fully conjugated verb if you changed the structure, for example:

• Antes de que salga, ... = Before I leave, ...

That version uses que and a conjugated verb, but it is a different construction.

Here salir means to leave or to go out, depending on context.

In Antes de salir, the idea is:

• before leaving
• before going out

Both are natural translations in English. The exact choice depends on the situation.

Meto is the first person singular present tense of meter.

• meter = to put in, to stick in, to insert
• meto = I put in / I put

Conjugation of meter in the present:

• yo meto
• tú metes
• él/ella/usted mete
• nosotros/nosotras metemos
• vosotros/vosotras metéis
• ellos/ellas/ustedes meten

So meto la tarjeta en la cartera means I put the card in the wallet/purse.

Both can sometimes translate as to put, but they are not always identical.

• poner is more general: to put / to place
• meter often suggests putting something into something else

Since the sentence says the card goes en la cartera, meter feels very natural because it emphasizes putting it inside.

Compare:

• Pongo la tarjeta sobre la mesa. = I put the card on the table.
• Meto la tarjeta en la cartera. = I put the card into the wallet.

So meter is a very good choice here.

Spanish often leaves out subject pronouns because the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

• meto already tells us the subject is I

So:

• (Yo) meto la tarjeta en la cartera

Both are correct, but Spanish usually prefers omitting yo unless you want emphasis, contrast, or clarity.

For example:

• Yo meto la tarjeta, pero tú guardas el dinero.

Here yo is used for contrast.

Spanish often uses the present tense to describe:

• a habitual action
• a routine
• a vivid immediate action

So Antes de salir, meto la tarjeta en la cartera can mean something like:

• Before leaving, I put the card in my wallet
• Before I leave, I put the card in my wallet

It sounds like part of a routine or normal sequence of actions. Spanish uses the present tense for that very naturally.

Tarjeta means card, but the exact kind of card depends on context.

It could be:

• a bank card
• a credit/debit card
• an ID card
• a travel card
• another kind of card

If the context does not specify, tarjeta just means card.

In Spain, cartera commonly means wallet.

Depending on context, it can sometimes also mean:

• purse
• briefcase
• portfolio

But in a sentence like meto la tarjeta en la cartera, the most natural meaning is wallet.

This is a useful regional note because in some varieties of Spanish, billetera is more common for wallet.

Spanish often uses the definite article (el, la, los, las) where English might use a possessive like my or your, especially when possession is obvious from context.

So:

• meto la tarjeta en la cartera

can naturally mean:

• I put the card in my wallet

If it is already clear whose wallet it is, Spanish does not need to say mi cartera.

This is very common in Spanish.

Here en means in / into.

• meter algo en algo = to put something into something

So:

• meto la tarjeta en la cartera = I put the card into the wallet

Using a here would not be correct in standard Spanish for this meaning.

Because Antes de salir is an introductory time expression at the beginning of the sentence.

So the comma helps separate:

• Antes de salir, = Before leaving,
• meto la tarjeta en la cartera.

In short sentences, punctuation can sometimes vary a little, but the comma is very natural and standard here.

Yes, you may sometimes see it without the comma, especially in informal writing, but the version with the comma is clearer and more standard.

Since Antes de salir is an introductory phrase, the comma is a good choice.

No. The r in salir is a Spanish single r, not an English r.

A simple pronunciation guide:

• salir ≈ sah-LEER

The final r is a light tap sound, not a strong English-style r.

Also:

• antes ≈ AHN-tes
• meto ≈ MEH-to
• tarjeta ≈ tar-HEH-ta in much of Spain
• cartera ≈ kar-TEH-ra

In Spain, the j in tarjeta is pronounced like a strong throaty h sound.

Yes: cartera meaning wallet is very natural in Spain.

Also, if pronounced in peninsular Spanish, some speakers would pronounce c before e/i with the th sound of think:

• antes has no such sound
• but in words like cartera, the c is just a normal k
• if the sentence had a word like gracias, in Spain many speakers would say GRA-thyas

In this sentence, the most clearly useful Spain-related vocabulary point is cartera = wallet.