I think with a comma, "before" is OK in British English. But the suggested translation when I tried to translate the Italian phrase was "way more", which definitely is not OK in British English.
what about throwing a spanner (sorry) in the works and assume he was taking in a much more work/cars to repair? Trying to make good English translation is a bit of a guessing game and I suppose is only half of trying to read and write good Italian
(American English speaker) If it's about money, you wouldn't say "many." You would say "more" (money). But I don't think you would say this in English anyhow - you would say he charged a lot more
Exactly. You would say "... he CHARGED a lot more..." in English. The meaning in Italian clearly indicates the fee the mechanic charges.Their English translation: "...was taking a lot more..." is ambiguous in English in a manner that the Italian version simply is not. They are wrong on this one.
I think that " the mechanic took on a lot more" is pretty good but it was declined. In translating, we try to make sense of what is there because we are given only a fragment of a complex sentence.
"way more" is a very colloquial expression, I would describe it as slang myself and would never use it. Where I live, it is hardly used and, if it appeared, it would have a slightly outmoded air.
so, as a student encountering this expression for the first time, how are we supposed to know that 'taking more' meant 'taking more money' or maybe he was 'charging the battery' more ; )