Breakdown of Son monedas auténticas por las que los coleccionistas pagan mucho.
ser
to be
mucho
many / a lot
pagar
to pay
que
that / than
la
the (feminine)
por
for / by / through / in/during (part of the day)
la moneda
coin
el coleccionista
collector
auténtico
authentic
Questions & Answers about Son monedas auténticas por las que los coleccionistas pagan mucho.
Why is por in the middle of the sentence instead of at the end like in English?
In English, it is common to end a sentence with a preposition like in 'pay a lot for'. In Spanish, you can never end a sentence with a preposition. The preposition must come right before the relative pronoun. To understand the Spanish structure, think of it as saying 'authentic coins for which the collectors pay a lot'.
Why do we use las que here instead of just que?
When a relative pronoun comes after certain prepositions like por, para, or sin, you need to include the definite article (el, la, los, or las) right before que. Since the phrase refers back to monedas, which is a feminine plural noun, we use las que.
Could I use quienes instead of las que since collectors are people?
No, because the relative pronoun refers back to the coins (monedas), not the collectors (los coleccionistas). The collectors are the ones doing the paying, but the coins are the non-human objects 'for which' the money is paid.
Why do we need the preposition por with pagar here?
In Spanish, when you pay in exchange for a physical item or service, you use pagar por. You only drop the preposition when you are stating the exact amount paid or the specific debt being settled, such as pagar la cuenta (to pay the bill).
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