Breakdown of Los buzos están a punto de salir del compartimento por la escotilla.
de
from / of
estar
to be (location/state)
a
to
del
from the / of the
salir
to go out / to leave
el punto
dot / point
por
for / by / through / in/during (part of the day)
el compartimento
compartment
la escotilla
hatch
el buzo
diver
Questions & Answers about Los buzos están a punto de salir del compartimento por la escotilla.
Why do we use por instead of para when talking about the hatch?
How would this sentence change if we used the neuter pronoun ello to say 'they are about to do it'?
If the action of leaving was already clear from context, you could replace the whole infinitive phrase with ello and say Los buzos están a punto de ello. We use ello here because it replaces an abstract idea or situation, and it neatly acts as the object of the preposition de.
Why is del required before compartimento? Doesn't salir already mean 'to leave'?
While salir translates as 'to leave' or 'to exit', its literal function is closer to 'to go out'. Because of this, you usually need the preposition de (from) to specify what place is being left. Here, de merges with the masculine article el to form del.
Is a punto de the only way to express being 'about to' do something?
Estar a punto de followed by an infinitive is the most standard phrase for this across all regions. However, in Latin America you will also frequently hear estar por followed by an infinitive (like están por salir), which similarly means they are about to leave or have the intention of leaving very soon.
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