Il a peur de l'ouragan au point de trembler.
He is afraid of the hurricane to the point of trembling.
Breakdown of Il a peur de l'ouragan au point de trembler.
il
he
de
of / from / any (in negative sentences) / about (concerning)
avoir peur
to be afraid
trembler
to tremble
au point de
to the point of
l'ouragan
the hurricane (m)
Questions & Answers about Il a peur de l'ouragan au point de trembler.
Why do we use the infinitive trembler here instead of a conjugated verb?
Because the subject of both actions is the same (Il). When the person being afraid and the person trembling are the same, we use au point de followed by an infinitive. If the subjects were different, we would use au point que followed by a conjugated verb.
Could we use à tel point de in this sentence instead?
No, you cannot use à tel point de before an infinitive. The correct expression with an infinitive is always au point de. You only use à tel point que when introducing a full clause with a conjugated verb.
Why is it de l'ouragan instead of just d'ouragan? Doesn't the expression avoir peur de just use de?
The expression is indeed avoir peur de (to be afraid of). However, because ouragan (hurricane) is a specific noun in this context, it requires its definite article (l'). The preposition de combined with l' simply becomes de l'. If it were a masculine noun starting with a consonant, like chien, it would contract to du chien.
In English we say 'trembling', which is an -ing word. Why does French use the infinitive trembler?
In French, prepositions like de, à, sans, and pour are almost always followed by the infinitive form of a verb, never the present participle (the -ant form). Therefore, 'to the point of trembling' must translate to au point de trembler.
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