אני יושבת בנוח על הספה וקוראת ספר.

Because the speaker is female.

In Hebrew, the present tense agrees with gender and number. So for a singular female speaker, you use:

• יושבת = sitting
• קוראת = reading

If the speaker were male, it would be:

• אני יושב בנוח על הספה וקורא ספר.

This is one of the first big differences English speakers notice, because English verbs usually do not change for gender, but Hebrew present-tense forms do.

Yes, you can often leave it out.

Hebrew frequently drops subject pronouns when the meaning is clear from context. So:

• אני יושבת בנוח על הספה וקוראת ספר.
• יושבת בנוח על הספה וקוראת ספר.

Both can work, depending on context.

However, אני is often included when:

• you want to be clear,
• you want emphasis,
• or you are answering a question like מה את עושה? (“What are you doing?”)

One important note: in the present tense, forms like יושבת tell you gender and number, but not always the full person as clearly as English does, so context still matters.

Yes — in modern Hebrew, these forms are traditionally called present-tense forms, but historically and grammatically they are related to participles.

So יושבת literally behaves like a participle, but in everyday modern Hebrew it functions as the normal present tense:

• אני יושבת = I am sitting / I sit
• אני קוראת = I am reading / I read

That means Hebrew uses the same form for both:

• I am sitting
• I sit

Context tells you which English translation fits best.

בנוח means something like comfortably, in comfort, or at ease.

It is made from:

• ב־ = in
• נוח = comfortable / ease / rest-related idea

So יושבת בנוח means “sitting comfortably” or “sitting in a comfortable way.”

For English speakers, this is useful because Hebrew often uses expressions like this instead of building adverbs the same way English does. Rather than adding -ly, Hebrew often uses a phrase.

Because על means on, and הספה means the sofa/couch.

So:

• על = on
• הספה = the sofa

Together:

• על הספה = on the sofa

The ה־ at the start of הספה is the definite article, meaning the.

So:

• ספה = a sofa / sofa
• הספה = the sofa

Because Hebrew has a word for “the”, but it does not have a separate word for “a/an.”

So:

• הספה = the sofa
• ספר = book / a book

Hebrew marks definiteness, but not indefiniteness. That means:

• ספר can mean a book
• הספר means the book

This is very common and important in Hebrew:

• no article = usually indefinite
• ה־ = definite

Because את is only used before a definite direct object.

Compare:

• קוראת ספר = reading a book → indefinite, so no את
• קוראת את הספר = reading the book → definite, so את is required

This is a very common question for English speakers, because English does not have an equivalent marker.

So in your sentence, ספר is indefinite, which is why there is no את.

Because Hebrew simply does not use an indefinite article like a/an.

So:

• קוראת ספר literally looks like “reading book”
• but in natural English it means “reading a book”

That is completely normal Hebrew.

If you wanted to say reading the book, you would say:

• קוראת את הספר

Yes, Hebrew word order is fairly flexible.

Your sentence is completely natural:

• אני יושבת בנוח על הספה וקוראת ספר.

But you could also hear variations like:

• אני יושבת על הספה בנוח וקוראת ספר.
• אני קוראת ספר כשאני יושבת בנוח על הספה.

The original order sounds natural and flows well: first the sitting situation, then the second action.

In general, Hebrew often allows more flexibility than English, but changing the order can slightly change the emphasis or sound more or less natural depending on context.

Yes. ו־ is the Hebrew word and, attached directly to the next word.

So:

• ו
  • קוראת = וקוראת = and reading / and I’m reading

Here it connects two actions done by the same person:

• יושבת = sitting
• וקוראת = and reading

This is very natural in Hebrew. You do not need to repeat אני.

Because once the subject is clear, Hebrew usually does not repeat it unless there is a reason to emphasize it.

So:

• אני יושבת בנוח על הספה וקוראת ספר.

naturally means:

• I am sitting comfortably on the sofa and reading a book.

Hebrew understands that the same speaker is doing both actions.

If you repeated the pronoun, it would usually sound more emphatic or less natural in a simple sentence:

• אני יושבת בנוח על הספה ואני קוראת ספר.

That is possible, but less smooth unless you specifically want emphasis.

The dictionary form is לקרוא = to read.

From that verb, the feminine singular present form is:

• קוראת

Related forms are:

• קורא = masculine singular
• קוראת = feminine singular
• קוראים = masculine plural / mixed plural
• קוראות = feminine plural

The same idea applies to יושבת, whose dictionary form is:

• לשבת = to sit

Here are the main versions:

Male singular

• אני יושב בנוח על הספה וקורא ספר.

Female singular

• אני יושבת בנוח על הספה וקוראת ספר.

Male plural / mixed group

• אנחנו יושבים בנוח על הספה וקוראים ספר.

Female plural

• אנחנו יושבות בנוח על הספה וקוראות ספר.

So the present-tense verbs change according to gender and number.

Normally, no. ספר is singular, so it means a book or sometimes book in a very literal gloss.

If you wanted books, you would say:

• ספרים

So:

• קוראת ספר = reading a book
• קוראת ספרים = reading books

Without context, the singular noun here is understood as one book.

No, but it is a natural and common way.

You could also say things like:

• אני יושבת בנוחות על הספה וקוראת ספר.
• אני יושבת לי על הספה וקוראת ספר.
• אני יושבת בצורה נוחה על הספה וקוראת ספר.

But בנוח is very conversational and natural in everyday speech.

For a learner, it is a good expression to remember as a chunk:

• לשבת בנוח = to sit comfortably
• להרגיש בנוח = to feel comfortable / at ease

A common pronunciation would be:

Ani yoshevet banoaḥ al hasapa ve-kore’et sefer.

A few helpful notes:

• יושבת = yoshevet
• בנוח = banoaḥ or sometimes something close depending on accent
• הספה = hasapa
• קוראת = kore’et — notice there is a break between the two vowels
• ספר = sefer

English speakers often want to say kor-et, but it is better thought of as ko-re-et.