Breakdown of Sorvolando la valle, ho tenuto il drone al di qua del fiume.
avere
to have
di
of, from
la
her/it (direct object)
tenere
to keep / to hold
il fiume
the river
la valle
the valley
il drone
the drone
sorvolare
to fly over
al di qua
on this side
Questions & Answers about Sorvolando la valle, ho tenuto il drone al di qua del fiume.
How does al di qua translate, and why is it followed by del instead of just il fiume?
al di qua means on this side (as opposed to al di là, meaning on that side or beyond). When linking it to a noun, it requires the preposition di. Since fiume takes the definite article il, di combines with il to form the articulated preposition del.
Why is there no preposition after Sorvolando? English says flying over.
The Italian verb sorvolare (to fly over) is transitive, meaning it attaches directly to its object without needing an extra preposition. Just as you watch TV in English, in Italian you simply say sorvolando la valle directly.
Grammatically, who is doing the flying here? Could it be the drone?
In Italian, a gerund like sorvolando must share the subject of the main clause. Since the main verb is ho tenuto (I kept), this sentence literally means that you were flying over the valley (perhaps in a helicopter). If you meant the drone was flying while you stood on the ground, you would need a subordinate clause: Mentre il drone sorvolava la valle, l'ho tenuto...
Since qui and qua both mean here, can I say al di qui del fiume?
No. Even though qui and qua are often interchangeable in daily conversation, this specific complex preposition is fixed as al di qua. The phrase al di qui is never used.
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