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L'ambizione di scavalcare ogni collega è diventata un'ossessione.

L'ambizione di scavalcare ogni collega è diventata un'ossessione.
The ambition to bypass every colleague has become an obsession.
From Lesson 456:Extreme purpose (pur di)·Italian

Questions & Answers about L'ambizione di scavalcare ogni collega è diventata un'ossessione.

Why is scavalcare used here to mean "bypass"?
Literally, scavalcare means "to climb over" or "to step over" (like a wall or a fence). In a professional context, it is a very common metaphor used to mean bypassing someone’s authority, going over someone's head, or leapfrogging them for a promotion.
Why is the verb è diventata instead of ha diventato?
Verbs denoting a change of state, like diventare (to become), always take essere as their auxiliary verb in compound tenses. Because it uses essere, the past participle must agree in gender and number with the subject. Since l'ambizione is feminine singular, the participle becomes diventata.
Why do we need the preposition di before scavalcare?
When a noun (like ambizione) is followed by an infinitive verb to explain what that noun consists of, Italian generally requires the preposition di to link them. Therefore, "the ambition to bypass" translates to l'ambizione di scavalcare.
Is collega masculine or feminine in this sentence?
It could be either! Collega is a noun that ends in -a in the singular whether it is masculine (il collega) or feminine (la collega). Because the adjective ogni (every) is invariable and attaches to singular nouns regardless of gender, ogni collega applies to any colleague, male or female.
How could we rewrite this idea to use the lesson's target grammar, pur di?
Because pur di translates to "just to" or "even if it means" to show extreme purpose, you would need to add an action that the person is willing to do. For example: Farebbe qualsiasi cosa pur di scavalcare ogni collega (He would do anything just to bypass every colleague).

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