Learn French: Il est fatigué à tel point de délirer. - He is tired to such a point of being delirious.

Il est fatigué à tel point de délirer.

He is tired to such a point of being delirious.

Breakdown of Il est fatigué à tel point de délirer.

Questions & Answers about Il est fatigué à tel point de délirer.

Can I use au point de instead of à tel point de in this sentence?

Yes, you can say Il est fatigué au point de délirer. Both expressions mean "to the point of [doing something]". Adding tel (such a) just gives a bit more emphasis to the intensity of the fatigue.

Why do we use the infinitive délirer instead of a full clause like qu'il délire?

Because the person who is tired is the same person who is delirious (il). When the subject is the same for both actions, we use the preposition de followed by an infinitive. If the subjects were different, you would use au point que followed by a conjugated verb.

Does délirer always mean a literal, medical delirium?

Not always! While here it implies being so exhausted he is practically hallucinating or not making sense, délirer is also frequently used colloquially to mean "to talk nonsense" or "to joke around". For example, Tu délires ! often just means "You're crazy!" or "You're talking nonsense!".

Is it ever correct to say à un tel point with the article un?

Yes, but not in this specific grammatical structure. When the phrase is followed by de plus an infinitive, you drop the article and just say à tel point. If you end the sentence there without adding the consequence, you will often hear à un tel point (to such a degree), for example: Il est fatigué, à un tel point !