Breakdown of Aunque rompan el pacto, el cual es importante, hay que continuar.
ser
to be
importante
important
romper
to break
hay que
(with que) one has to / must
continuar
to continue
aunque
although / even though
el cual
which / who (masculine singular)
el pacto
the pact
Questions & Answers about Aunque rompan el pacto, el cual es importante, hay que continuar.
Why use el cual here instead of just que?
While you could use que, el cual is a slightly more formal relative pronoun often used after commas to add extra, non-essential information about a noun. It translates to "which" and must agree in gender and number with the noun it refers back to—in this case, the masculine singular el pacto.
Could I use the neuter lo cual instead of el cual in this sentence?
Not without changing the meaning! El cual refers specifically to the noun right before it, meaning the pact itself is important. If you used the neuter lo cual, it wouldn't refer to a specific noun; it would refer to the entire preceding idea, meaning "the fact that they might break the pact is important."
Why is the verb romper in the subjunctive form (rompan)?
The word aunque takes the subjunctive when talking about a hypothetical situation or an unconfirmed future possibility. Because the English translation says "Even if they break" rather than "Even though they are breaking," it is treated as a possibility, requiring the subjunctive rompan.
The translation says "we must continue", but isn't hay que impersonal?
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