Breakdown of El tigre enojado está enfrente de nosotros; lo escuchamos rugir.
nosotros
we
estar
to be (location/state)
enojado
angry
escuchar
to listen
lo
it / him (direct object)
enfrente de
in front of
rugir
to roar
el tigre
the tiger
Questions & Answers about El tigre enojado está enfrente de nosotros; lo escuchamos rugir.
Why use the infinitive rugir (to roar) when the English translation says "roaring"?
When using verbs of physical perception like escuchar (to hear) or ver (to see), Spanish often uses the infinitive (rugir) where English uses an "-ing" form. You could also use the gerund (rugiendo) to emphasize that the roaring is currently in progress, but the infinitive is very common and completely natural in this structure.
Could I attach the pronoun lo to the end of the infinitive, like escuchamos rugirlo?
No, the pronoun must go before the conjugated verb here. While you can often attach pronouns to infinitives, in this sentence lo (him) is the direct object of escuchamos (we hear him), not of rugir. Therefore, it has to go right before escuchamos.
The translation says "we hear," but doesn't escuchamos mean "we listen"?
Is está used here because being angry (enojado) is a temporary emotion?
Emotions do use estar, but that's not actually what está is doing in this sentence! Here, está connects the tiger to its location: enfrente de nosotros (in front of us). In Spanish, we always use estar to state where someone or something is located.
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