Breakdown of Nous avions entendu un rugissement avant de trouver la fourrure.
un
a / an (masculine)
nous
we / us (object pronoun)
avoir
to have
entendre
to hear
trouver
to find
avant de
before (+ infinitive)
la fourrure
the fur
le rugissement
the roar
Questions & Answers about Nous avions entendu un rugissement avant de trouver la fourrure.
Why is avions entendu used here instead of the passé composé (avons entendu)?
Avions entendu is in the plus-que-parfait (pluperfect) tense, which translates to "had heard". It is used to emphasize that an action happened completely before another past action. In this sentence, it clarifies that the hearing took place prior to the finding of the fur.
Why do we use avant de trouver instead of avant que nous trouvions?
French requires the preposition avant de followed by an infinitive when the subject of both actions is the same. Since "we" heard the roar and "we" found the fur, avant de trouver is the only natural choice. You would use avant que plus the subjunctive if there were two different subjects.
Where does the noun rugissement come from?
Does fourrure refer to any animal's hair or coat?
Fourrure usually refers to thick, dense wild animal fur (like a bear's or a lion's) or a detached pelt. If you were talking about the everyday coat of a normal pet dog or cat, you would typically use the words le pelage or les poils instead.
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