a la que means what?

Question

I do not understand why my spanish book uses "a la" in the following sentence. What does it mean? If it means "la pareja" why would anyone duplicate saying "la pareja" immediately after they just said "la pareja"?

Mientras estabamos viviendo en Buenos Aires conocimos a una pareja a la que le encantaba viajar alrededor del mundo.

Answer 1

Maybe treat it as a "refers to" usage. a la que could be "to which" or in this case "to whom/who".

"...a couple who loved to travel around the world"

Answer 2

a la que le encantaba

In the construction of verbs like "gustar" we use "a" to say "to." For example, "a mi me encanta viajar" literally means "to me traveling is enchanting."

So, here the subject is the couple and "a la" is directed toward them.

".....una pareja a la que le encantaba viajar alrededor del mundo" literally translate to 'a couple to whom traveling is enchanting.'

Is that helpful or do you want me to explain a bit further?

seems reasonable...to who/whom or to which - cj2001, May 25, 2010

Answer 3

Further Explanation