"Prima il meccanico prendeva molto di più."

Translation: Before, the mechanic used to charge a lot more.

[DarienGS]

What does this mean??

[Seresam]

More or less: before the mechanic's fee was much higher. It is implied that he was taking much more ( money)

[DarienGS]

Oh, right, thanks. This isn't a great English translation then - "previously" would be a much clearer word choice than "before".

[RichardWil528737]

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.

[FrancesKlayman]

I thought so too so I said charged a lot more

[ziggKogg]

English way of saying this would be :

"At first the mechanic took a lot more."

[sivo64]

Sounds as if he used to nick things from the trunk and the glove compartment.

[confusedbeetle]

he he

[Mimk1]

the mechanic took much more before Not correct?

[LukaLuka1989]

WAS TAKING instead of TOOK, maybe

[confusedbeetle]

That would be stava prendendo

[JxPatrizia]

I used PREVIOUSLY ...etc. & of course it was marked wrong. However, IMO previously sounds better in English than before.

[confusedbeetle]

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

[KatPavi]

why is "much more" not accepted?

[confusedbeetle]

i had much more accepted

[grasshopher]

Remind me why 'many more' is wrong?

[LatecomerLaurie]

(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

[e888]

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.

[silen03]

I'm Italian speaker and I suspected that this sentence is not clear or used in the same meaning in English. Now it is clear. Thanks.

[sbarbour]

it may have taken a while, but charged is now listed as the preferred translation

[TedPs]

many is used with count nouns. Money is a non-count noun. Though you can actually count money. But that's the way it is.

[kmadams11]

I agree with the reasons given, but without context it's hard to know. I thought it was referring to cars, in which case many more would be fine.

[gooley]

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.

[zar2k]

What would be wrong with translating "Prima" with "At the beginning"???

[vioeliz]

"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.

[stephan547184]

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 ; )