Learn Spanish (Latin America): Tantas cajas no las debemos amontonar en la sala. - So many boxes, we must not pile up in the living room.

Tantas cajas no las debemos amontonar en la sala.

So many boxes, we must not pile up in the living room.

Breakdown of Tantas cajas no las debemos amontonar en la sala.

Questions & Answers about Tantas cajas no las debemos amontonar en la sala.

Why do we need the pronoun las if we already said tantas cajas?

This is a great example of left-dislocation (or topicalization). By pulling the direct object (tantas cajas) to the very front of the sentence for emphasis, Spanish requires you to double it with the matching direct object pronoun (las) next to the verb. It is like saying, 'So many boxes, we must not pile them up.'

Could the las be attached to the infinitive amontonar instead?

Yes! Even with the object pulled to the front, the standard rules for pronoun placement still apply. You can place the clitic before the conjugated verb (no las debemos amontonar) or attach it to the end of the infinitive (no debemos amontonarlas). Both sound perfectly natural.

Why does the word no come after Tantas cajas instead of at the very beginning?

When you front an object to make it the main topic, it gets placed before the entire active clause, including the negation. The core sentence here is no las debemos amontonar, and Tantas cajas just sits at the very beginning to set the focus.

Is the verb amontonar related to the noun montón?

Exactly! Un montón means 'a pile' or 'a heap' (and is often used colloquially to mean 'a lot'). So the verb amontonar literally means to make a pile or to pile things up.