Breakdown of No veo el borde por el que iba a caer el agua.
no
no, not
ver
to see / to look / appear
el agua
water
ir
to go
a
to
que
that / than
caer
to fall
por
for / by / through / in/during (part of the day)
el borde
the edge
Questions & Answers about No veo el borde por el que iba a caer el agua.
Why do we use por el que instead of just por que?
When a relative pronoun follows a preposition like por, you usually need to include the definite article (el, la, los, or las) that matches the noun being referred to. Since it refers back to el borde (masculine singular), we use el que. Saying por que here would sound incorrect.
Could I use por el cual instead of por el que here?
Why is the preposition por used here to mean over?
The preposition por has many uses, including movement through, along, or over an area. Since the water was going to flow or fall over or along the edge, por is the most natural choice to describe this physical movement.
Wait, isn't agua a feminine word? Why does it say el agua?
You are right that agua is feminine! However, singular feminine nouns that begin with a stressed A or HA sound use the masculine article el to avoid the awkward double A sound of la agua. If you make it plural, it goes back to feminine: las aguas, and adjectives modifying it stay feminine (like el agua fría).
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