Question 1

Why is the future tense (aura) translated as "must be" instead of "will be"?

Accepted Answer

This sentence uses the "futur de probabilité" (future of probability). In French, the future tense is frequently used to express a strong assumption, deduction, or probability about the present. By saying l'ennemi en aura peur, the speaker is deducing "the enemy must be afraid of it" based on the height of the wall, rather than making a prediction about the future.

Question 2

Could I just use the verb devoir and say l'ennemi doit en avoir peur?

Accepted Answer

Yes, you absolutely can. Using devoir is the standard, literal way to translate "must be" when making a deduction, and it is perfectly correct. Using the future tense (aura) to express probability is just a stylistic, native-sounding alternative that achieves the exact same meaning.

Question 3

Why is the pronoun en used here instead of a direct object pronoun like la?

Accepted Answer

The pronoun en is used to replace nouns introduced by the preposition de. The French expression for "to be afraid of" is avoir peur de. Because the speaker is referring back to being "afraid of the wall" (peur de la muraille), the entire de phrase must be replaced by en.

Question 4

Is there a difference between une muraille and un mur?

Accepted Answer

Yes, there is a difference in scale and purpose. A mur is a standard wall, like the wall of a room or a garden. A muraille specifically refers to a massive, thick, and usually fortified defensive wall, such as the walls of a medieval castle or the Great Wall of China (La Grande Muraille).

La muraille est haute, l'ennemi en aura peur.

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