"las que" sin antecedente

Question

Por qué se usa "las" en "[la juventud] es un lienzo en blanco esperando ser pintado con las que son consideradas experiencias inolvidables y valiosas lecciones de vida"?

(https://spanish.kwiziq.com/my-languages/spanish/tests/overview/3947371)

Accepted Answer

Hola J.P.
In the sentence "[La juventud] es un lienzo en blanco esperando ser pintado con las que son consideradas experiencias inolvidables y valiosas lecciones de vida", the pronoun "las" refers to something implied in the context, even though it has not been explicitly mentioned before.
In this case, "las" functions as a direct object pronoun that refers to "experiencias inolvidables y valiosas lecciones de vida". Although this phrase appears later in the sentence, Spanish allows such structures because the meaning can be inferred by the listener or reader.
The relative pronoun "que" introduces the clause "que son consideradas experiencias inolvidables y valiosas lecciones de vida", providing more information about what "las" refers to.
Example of a similar structure:
Estas son las que necesitamos para el proyecto. (These are the ones we need for the project.)
Even though "experiencias" and "lecciones" are mentioned after "las que", the sentence is grammatically correct because the context makes the reference clear.
Let me know if you’d like more examples or further explanation!
Buen finde
Silvia