Breakdown of I fan vogliono accamparsi dietro la transenna al punto da non dormire.
non
not
dormire
to sleep
al
to the / at the
volere
to want
dietro
behind
il punto
the point
da
so ... that (with così/talmente + infinitive)
il fan
the fan
accamparsi
to camp out
la transenna
the barricade
Questions & Answers about I fan vogliono accamparsi dietro la transenna al punto da non dormire.
How does al punto da work here, and why use the infinitive dormire?
Al punto da introduces a consequence of extreme limit, meaning "to the point of" or "so much that". We use the infinitive here because the subject of both actions is the same (i fan). If the consequence had a different subject, we would use the explicit form al punto che followed by a conjugated verb.
Why is the negative word placed before the infinitive in non dormire?
To negate an infinitive in Italian, the negative particle non is always placed directly in front of the infinitive verb. It does not wrap around the verb or follow it.
Why does the sentence say i fan instead of i fans?
Why use the reflexive accamparsi instead of just accampare?
When referring to people setting up camp, Italian uses the reflexive form accamparsi. The non-reflexive accampare requires a direct object and usually means "to put forward" or "to claim", as in the common phrase accampare scuse (to make up excuses).
Could I say dietro alla transenna instead?
Yes, both dietro la transenna and dietro alla transenna are perfectly correct. The preposition of place dietro (behind) can be followed directly by a noun and its article, or it can be joined with the preposition a.
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