J'aime lire le livre le soir.

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Breakdown of J'aime lire le livre le soir.

• aimer: to like
• lire: to read
• le livre: the book
• le soir: the evening

Questions & Answers about J'aime lire le livre le soir.

Why is lire in the infinitive form after J’aime instead of changing its form to something like je lis?

In French, when certain verbs (like aimer, adorer, détester) are followed by another verb, that second verb remains in the infinitive. So after J’aime, you use lire instead of je lis or lis.

Why does the sentence use the definite article le before livre?

Using le (the definite article) indicates a specific book, or that the speaker is thinking of a particular book. If you just meant "a book," you could say un livre, but here the definite article le points to one specific book you like to read.

Why do we say le soir to express "in the evening"?

In French, we often use le + time of day (like le matin, l’après-midi, le soir) to talk about something that happens regularly at that time. Saying le soir conveys the idea of an evening habit, rather than a one-time event.

Could we say J’aime lire without specifying le livre?

Absolutely. If you like to read in general, you can say J’aime lire. Including le livre makes it more specific, as if it’s a particular book you’re focusing on, but you can drop it to speak more generally about reading.