ELONIO
Log inSign up

Il contribuente ha pagato l'imposta entro la fine del mese.

Il contribuente ha pagato l'imposta entro la fine del mese.
The taxpayer paid the tax by the end of the month.
From Lesson 294:Deadlines (entro)·Italian

Questions & Answers about Il contribuente ha pagato l'imposta entro la fine del mese.

Why use entro here to mean 'by'?
In Italian, entro is used to set a strict time limit or deadline, meaning 'no later than' or 'within'. While English uses 'by' to say something must be done before a certain time (like 'by the end of the month'), Italian uses entro for this exact situation.
The word for tax here is imposta. Could I also say tassa?
In casual conversation, Italians often use them interchangeably. However, technically, un'imposta is a general tax based on income or wealth, while una tassa is a fee paid for a specific public service (like a university fee). Since this sentence sounds like formal financial language, imposta is the accurate choice here.
Why is it la fine (feminine)? I thought words ending in -e were unpredictable.
You do have to memorize the gender of nouns ending in -e, but this one has a helpful trick! When it means 'the end' (of a time, a movie, a street), it is always feminine: la fine. There is a masculine version, il fine, but it means 'the goal' or 'the purpose'.
How would I say this if the taxpayer were a woman?
You would just change the article and say la contribuente. Nouns ending in -ente that refer to people (like insegnante or contribuente) keep the exact same -e ending for both masculine and feminine subjects.

Learn Il contribuente ha pagato l'imposta entro la fine del mese and more in Italian

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
  • ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free
Start learning Italian →