Learn Italian: Per evitare la multa, Lei deve pagare l'imposta entro domani. - To avoid the fine, you must pay the tax by tomorrow.

Per evitare la multa, Lei deve pagare l'imposta entro domani.

To avoid the fine, you must pay the tax by tomorrow.

Breakdown of Per evitare la multa, Lei deve pagare l'imposta entro domani.

Lei

you (formal)

per

for / in order to / because of

Questions & Answers about Per evitare la multa, Lei deve pagare l'imposta entro domani.

Why do we use entro instead of fino a to say 'by tomorrow'?

The word entro is specifically used for deadlines, meaning 'no later than' or 'by' a certain time. If you used fino a (until), it would incorrectly imply that the physical action of paying is happening continuously up until tomorrow, rather than just needing to be completed before tomorrow arrives.

Why is there a per at the beginning of the sentence when the English translation just says 'To avoid'?

In Italian, when you express the purpose of an action (meaning 'in order to'), you must use per followed by the infinitive verb. Here, per evitare directly translates to 'in order to avoid'.

Why is Lei capitalized in the middle of the sentence?

Capitalizing Lei is a standard way to show that it refers to the formal 'you' rather than the pronoun 'she'. While not strictly required in informal writing, it makes it instantly clear that this is a formal address, which perfectly fits the context of an official warning about a fine.

Could I use la tassa instead of l'imposta to mean 'the tax'?

Yes, in everyday conversation Italians often use them interchangeably. Technically, un'imposta is a general mandatory tax (like income tax), while una tassa is a fee paid for a specific public service, but both are understood as a required financial payment in this context.