Nous allons installer la tente derrière la voiture, près des dunes.

Nous allons installer is the near future: literally we are going to set up/install.

French often uses this structure:

• aller + infinitive
• nous allons + installer

It is very common in everyday speech and usually suggests something that is about to happen or is planned.

You could also say:

• Nous installerons la tente...

That is the simple future and means we will set up the tent... It is also correct, but it can sound a little more formal or less immediate depending on context.

After aller in this future construction, French uses the infinitive of the main verb.

So:

• nous allons installer = we are going to set up
• not nous allons installons

Installons would be a conjugated form, not an infinitive. French does not use two fully conjugated verbs together like that in this structure.

Here installer means to set up or to put in place.

Although English has install, with a tent that sounds unnatural in many contexts. In French, installer une tente is normal. Depending on context, it can mean:

• set up a tent
• pitch a tent

So this is a good example where the French verb is broader than the most natural English equivalent.

French often uses the definite article (le, la, les) where English might also use the, but sometimes French uses it more naturally because the objects are understood from context.

Here:

• la tente = the tent
• la voiture = the car

This suggests the speaker has a specific tent and a specific car in mind.

If you said:

• Nous allons installer une tente derrière une voiture...

that would sound more like a tent behind a car, with less specific reference.

Derrière means behind.

In this sentence:

• derrière la voiture = behind the car

It is a preposition showing location.

Some useful related words:

• devant = in front of
• à côté de = next to
• sous = under
• sur = on

So derrière la voiture tells you where the tent will be set up.

Because près is normally followed by de:

• près de = near

So the basic structure is:

• près de + noun

With les dunes, de + les contracts to des:

• près de les dunes → près des dunes

This is the same kind of contraction as:

• à + le → au
• de + le → du
• de + les → des

No. In this sentence, des comes from the contraction of de + les.

So:

• près des dunes = near the dunes

This is not the partitive or indefinite des meaning some. It is specifically:

• près de les dunes → près des dunes

So here des dunes means the dunes, not some dunes.

The comma separates an extra location detail.

The main location is:

• derrière la voiture = behind the car

Then près des dunes adds another piece of information:

• near the dunes

So the sentence gives two location clues:

1. behind the car
2. near the dunes

The comma helps organize the sentence, but in some contexts French punctuation can be flexible. The meaning stays the same.

Yes, nous means we.

In this sentence:

• Nous allons installer... = We are going to set up...

In spoken French, many people often use on instead of nous for we:

• On va installer la tente derrière la voiture, près des dunes.

This is very common in everyday conversation.
So:

• nous allons = more standard/formal
• on va = very common spoken French

Both can mean the same thing.

A rough guide:

• derrière sounds roughly like deh-RYEHR
• près sounds roughly like preh

A few pronunciation notes:

• The è sound in derrière and près is an open e sound, like eh.
• The final s in près is normally silent.
• The final e in tente is also silent.
• In nous allons, there is often a smooth link in speech:
  • nous-z-allons

If you want to sound natural, say the sentence smoothly rather than word by word.

Yes. A common alternative is:

• monter la tente

That also means to put up / set up the tent.

For example:

• Nous allons monter la tente derrière la voiture, près des dunes.

Both are correct, but:

• monter la tente often feels very natural for tents
• installer la tente can sound slightly broader, like placing and arranging it properly

The structure is:

• Nous = subject
• allons = conjugated verb
• installer = infinitive
• la tente = direct object
• derrière la voiture = place
• près des dunes = additional place detail

So the pattern is roughly:

Subject + near-future verb structure + object + place

That is a very common French sentence pattern.