Nous attendons devant la gare avant le départ du train.

Attendons is the present tense form of attendre used with nous.

The verb attendre is conjugated like this in the present:

• j’attends
• tu attends
• il / elle / on attend
• nous attendons
• vous attendez
• ils / elles attendent

So nous attendons simply means we wait or we are waiting, depending on the context.

In English, you usually say wait for someone or something. In French, attendre usually does not need a separate word meaning for before its direct object.

For example:

• J’attends le train. = I’m waiting for the train.
• Nous attendons Marie. = We’re waiting for Marie.

In your sentence, though, there is no direct object after attendons. The sentence just says We are waiting, and then adds where and when:

• devant la gare = where
• avant le départ du train = when / before what event

So French does not need a separate for here.

Devant means in front of. So devant la gare means the people are positioned outside, in front of the station.

That is different from:

• à la gare = at the station
• dans la gare = in the station
• devant la gare = in front of the station

A learner may confuse these, but devant is more specific about location.

Here, devant is a preposition. It introduces a location:

• devant la gare
• devant la maison
• devant l’école

It is followed by a noun phrase and tells you where something happens.

French nouns have grammatical gender. Gare is a feminine noun, so it takes la in the singular:

• la gare = the station

You simply have to learn the gender with the noun. It does not mean the station is somehow feminine in a real-world sense; it is just part of French grammar.

In French, nouns usually need an article much more often than in English. Since départ is a noun here, French normally uses le:

• avant le départ = before the departure

Leaving out the article would sound unnatural in standard French.

This is very common:

• après le repas
• avant la réunion
• pendant le voyage

French often uses article + noun where English may sound more flexible.

French can express this idea with a noun phrase instead of a full clause.

• le départ du train literally means the departure of the train

This is a very normal and natural structure in French, especially in more neutral or slightly formal phrasing.

French could also use a clause, for example:

• avant que le train parte

That also means before the train leaves, but it is a different structure and requires the subjunctive after avant que.

So your sentence uses a simpler noun-based expression.

Du is the contraction of de + le.

So:

• de + le = du

In le départ du train, the du train part means of the train.

Other examples:

• la porte du bureau = the door of the office
• le toit du bâtiment = the roof of the building

So le départ du train means the train’s departure or the departure of the train.

Because in French, de + le must contract to du.

So you say:

• du train
• du professeur
• du musée

But note the other possibilities:

• de la gare = of the station
• de l’école = of the school
• des enfants = of the children

This is a basic contraction rule in French grammar.

French often uses nouns like départ, arrivée, ouverture, fermeture, and so on, where English might prefer a verb.

• le départ = the departure
• l’arrivée = the arrival

So avant le départ du train is a very natural French way to say before the train departs / before the train leaves.

This kind of noun-based phrasing is common in announcements, schedules, descriptions, and general narration.

Not with the same meaning.

Avant de partir means before leaving or before we leave / before leaving oneself, depending on context. It refers to the subject of the main verb.

For example:

• Nous attendons devant la gare avant de partir. = We wait in front of the station before leaving.

That means we are the ones leaving.

But in your sentence:

• avant le départ du train

the thing that departs is the train, not necessarily we. So avant de partir would change the meaning.

Yes. That would be a natural alternative:

• Nous attendons devant la gare avant que le train parte.

This means We are waiting in front of the station before the train leaves.

However, after avant que, French uses the subjunctive, so you get parte rather than part.

So the two main versions are:

• avant le départ du train — noun-based structure
• avant que le train parte — clause with a verb

Both are correct, but the sentence you were given uses the noun phrase.

French often builds ideas in a slightly more noun-centered and prepositional way than English.

The sentence is organized like this:

• Nous attendons = main action
• devant la gare = location
• avant le départ du train = time relation

That order is very natural in French: verb + place + time/event.

English might choose a different structure more often, such as before the train leaves, but the French sentence is grammatically straightforward and idiomatic.

Yes. Nous attendons is in the present tense, and the French present can correspond to both:

• we wait
• we are waiting

The exact English translation depends on context. French does not need a separate form like English are waiting in this sentence.

A careful pronunciation would be roughly:

Noo zah-ton doh-vahn lah gar ah-vahn luh day-par dew trahn

A few useful pronunciation points:

• nous attendons has a liaison, so the s in nous sounds like z before attendons
• devant has a nasal vowel at the end
• gare has a clear r
• départ has stress that is much flatter than in English
• train ends with a nasal vowel, not a fully pronounced n

You do not need to pronounce every final consonant. French rhythm is smoother and more connected than English.

Usually gare refers to a train station. That matches the rest of the sentence, because it also mentions le train.

If French wants to be more specific, it can say:

• gare ferroviaire = railway station

But in everyday usage, la gare normally already suggests a train station.