Breakdown of Los diplomáticos terminaron por prolongar la disputa, lo que frustró a todos.
terminar
to finish / to end
que
that / than
por
for / by / through / in/during (part of the day)
todo
all / everything
lo
the ... thing (neuter article)
frustrar
to frustrate
la disputa
the dispute
el diplomático
the diplomat
prolongar
to prolong
a
personal 'a' (marks a human direct object)
Questions & Answers about Los diplomáticos terminaron por prolongar la disputa, lo que frustró a todos.
Why use terminaron por prolongar instead of just prolongaron?
The structure terminar por followed by an infinitive is a culminating periphrasis. It emphasizes the final outcome of a long process, translating to ending up doing something. If we just used prolongaron (they prolonged), we would lose the sense that this was the final result of their actions.
Could we use acabar instead of terminar here?
English uses the -ing form (ended up prolonging). Why does Spanish use the infinitive prolongar here?
While you can say terminaron prolongando using the gerund without a preposition, this specific sentence uses the structure terminar por. In Spanish, prepositions like por must always be followed by the infinitive form of a verb, never the gerund.
Why is lo que used here instead of just que?
The phrase lo que is a neuter relative pronoun used to refer back to a complete idea or previous situation rather than a specific noun. Here, it refers to the entire action of the diplomats prolonging the dispute. If you just used que, it would incorrectly refer only to the noun immediately before it (la disputa), changing the meaning.
Why is there an a before todos?
This is a classic example of the personal a. Even though todos (everyone) is an indefinite pronoun, it refers to people who are the direct object of the verb frustró. Whenever a direct object refers to people, Spanish requires you to place an a right before it.
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