Breakdown of Los lotes originales por los que ella puja son caros.
ser
to be
ella
she
los
the (masculine plural)
caro
expensive
que
that / than
por
for / by / through / in/during (part of the day)
el lote
lot
pujar
to bid
original
original
Questions & Answers about Los lotes originales por los que ella puja son caros.
Why do we need por los que here instead of just saying que?
In English, we often end a phrase with a preposition, like 'the lots she bids for'. In Spanish, you can never end a clause with a preposition. It must be moved to the front of the relative clause. Since she is bidding for the lots, por must go before the relative pronoun los que. We use los que because it matches the masculine, plural noun los lotes.
Could I use los cuales instead of los que in this sentence?
Yes, you could say por los cuales ella puja and it would mean exactly the same thing. After prepositions like por, both el que (and its forms) and el cual (and its forms) are correct. Los que is simply more common in everyday speech, while los cuales sounds a bit more formal.
Why is it por and not para in this sentence?
The verb pujar (to bid) naturally pairs with the preposition por to mean 'to bid for' something. Additionally, Spanish uses por when talking about exchanges, purchases, or amounts of money, which fits perfectly with placing a bid at an auction.
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