Questions & Answers about Je veux relire ce roman ce soir.
Why is relire in the infinitive form after veux?
In French, certain verbs are followed directly by another verb in the infinitive. Vouloir is one of them.
- Je veux relire ce roman. = I want to reread this novel.
Structure: je veux (conjugated) + relire (infinitive)
You conjugate vouloir to match the subject (je veux, tu veux, il veut, etc.), but you leave the second verb (relire) in the infinitive. You would not say je veux relis – that’s incorrect in French.
Why is it relire and not lire encore?
Both are possible, but relire is the standard, concise verb for to reread.
- relire = to read something again (one compact verb)
- lire encore / lire à nouveau / lire de nouveau = to read again (periphrastic expressions)
Examples:
- Je veux relire ce roman. – completely natural and common.
- Je veux lire ce roman encore. – understandable, but less elegant and less idiomatic in this context.
- Je veux le lire à nouveau. – also correct, a bit more formal.
If a single specific text is involved (a book, a letter, an article), French strongly prefers relire.
What is the difference between ce roman and le roman here?