Question 1

Why use toujours est-il que here instead of just saying mais?

Accepted Answer

While mais works to say 'but', toujours est-il que is much stronger for guiding a conversation. It specifically acknowledges the previous doubt (maybe it was just the wind) and firmly pivots to state an undeniable fact (the roar was terrifying regardless). It translates perfectly to 'be that as it may' or 'the fact remains that'.

Question 2

Why is était in the indicative and not the subjunctive after toujours est-il que?

Accepted Answer

Even though many French expressions ending in que require the subjunctive, toujours est-il que is an exception because it introduces a confirmed fact. Since you are insisting that the following statement is objectively true, it must always be followed by the indicative mood.

Question 3

Why is peut-être placed after C'était instead of at the beginning of the sentence?

Accepted Answer

Placing peut-être right after the conjugated verb is the most natural way to say 'maybe' in conversational French. If you put it at the very beginning, you would either need to add que (Peut-être que c'était le vent) or use formal subject-verb inversion (Peut-être était-ce le vent).

Question 4

Why does this sentence use C'était instead of Il était to mean 'It was'?

Accepted Answer

We use ce (contracted to c') because it is followed by a determiner and a noun (le vent). If you were describing a state with an adjective alone, you would use il (for example, il était fort for 'it was strong'). But to identify a thing like 'it was the wind', c'était is the required choice.

C'était peut-être le vent ; toujours est-il que le rugissement était terrifiant.

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