Ce soir, je vais plutôt lire un roman.

Because soir is a masculine noun in French, so it takes ce.

• ce = this / that for a masculine singular noun
• cette = this / that for a feminine singular noun

So:

• ce soir = this evening / tonight
• cette soirée = this evening (using soirée, which is feminine and slightly different in meaning)

A useful contrast:

• ce soir = tonight, this evening in a general time sense
• cette soirée = this evening as an event or occasion

Je vais lire is the near future in French.

It is formed with:

• aller in the present tense
  +
• an infinitive

So here:

• je vais = I am going
• lire = to read

Together, je vais lire means I’m going to read.

This structure is extremely common in everyday French, just like I’m going to read in English.

Examples:

• Je vais manger. = I’m going to eat.
• On va partir. = We’re going to leave.

Both are possible, but they are not exactly the same in tone.

• je vais lire = near future, very common in spoken French, often sounds immediate or planned
• je lirai = simple future, often a bit more formal, neutral, or detached

So:

• Ce soir, je vais plutôt lire un roman. sounds very natural in conversation.
• Ce soir, je lirai plutôt un roman. is also correct, but it may sound a little more formal or deliberate.

English does something similar:

• I’m going to read a novel tonight.
• I will read a novel tonight.

In everyday speech, French often prefers aller + infinitive.

Here, plutôt means something like rather, instead, or preferably.

In this sentence, it suggests a preference or choice among possible activities. The idea is something like:

• Tonight, I’d rather read a novel.
• Tonight, I’m going to read a novel instead.

The exact English translation depends on context.

Plutôt can have several related meanings:

• rather
• instead
• fairly / quite in some contexts

For example:

• Je vais plutôt rester chez moi. = I’d rather stay home.
• C’est plutôt intéressant. = It’s rather interesting.

So here, plutôt is expressing preference, not intensity.

Because it modifies the action lire.

French adverbs often go before an infinitive when they modify it:

• Je vais bientôt partir. = I’m going to leave soon.
• Je vais peut-être venir. = I may come.
• Je vais plutôt lire. = I’m rather going to read / I’m going to read instead.

So in je vais plutôt lire un roman, plutôt is tied to the verb lire and helps express what the speaker prefers to do.

If you move plutôt, the nuance can shift slightly. For example:

• Je vais plutôt lire un roman = I’d rather read a novel
• Je vais lire plutôt un roman = less natural in many contexts; it can sound like rather a novel than something else

The original version is the most natural way to express the idea.

Because French usually requires an article before a singular countable noun.

So you say:

• un roman = a novel
• un livre = a book
• une voiture = a car

Unlike English, French usually does not say just read novel. You need an article:

• lire un roman = to read a novel

If you said lire roman, it would be ungrammatical in standard French.

In this context, yes.

Un roman means a novel.

This can be confusing for English speakers because Roman in English usually refers to ancient Rome or a Roman person, but in French:

• un roman = a novel
• romain / romaine = Roman

So:

• un roman français = a French novel
• un empereur romain = a Roman emperor

They are different words.

No, it is not strictly necessary.

You can write:

• Ce soir, je vais plutôt lire un roman.
• Ce soir je vais plutôt lire un roman.

Both are correct.

The comma just helps mark ce soir as an introductory time expression, creating a small pause, much like in English:

• Tonight, I’m going to read a novel instead.

So the comma is mostly a matter of style and readability here.

Yes. French allows some flexibility with time expressions.

For example:

• Ce soir, je vais plutôt lire un roman.
• Je vais plutôt lire un roman ce soir.

Both are correct.

The difference is mostly one of emphasis:

• Ce soir, ... puts tonight up front
• ... ce soir leaves the time information until the end

Putting the time phrase first is very common when setting the scene or contrasting with another time:

• Ce matin, j’ai travaillé. Ce soir, je vais plutôt lire un roman.

Yes, but it is not exactly the same sentence.

• Je vais plutôt lire un roman. = I’m going to read a novel instead / I’d rather read a novel.
• Je préfère lire un roman. = I prefer to read a novel.

Préférer states the preference more directly.
Plutôt often sounds softer and more contextual, as if the speaker is choosing this option rather than another one that is understood from the situation.

For example:

• Tu veux regarder un film ?
• Ce soir, je vais plutôt lire un roman.

That sounds very natural: Actually, tonight I’d rather read a novel.

Lire is pronounced roughly like leer, but with a French r.

A simple approximation for an English speaker is:

• lire ≈ leer

But keep in mind:

• the r is the French throat r
• the final e is not pronounced

So the word is one syllable.

Also, in the sentence:

• je vais lire

you will often hear smooth linking in natural speech, but lire itself stays one syllable.

Because the near future construction in French is simply:

• aller + infinitive

There is no preposition between them.

So:

• je vais lire = correct
• je vais à lire = incorrect

Compare:

• Je vais manger. = I’m going to eat.
• Nous allons partir. = We’re going to leave.

Even though aller often means to go, in this grammar pattern it works like a helper verb and is followed directly by the infinitive.