Learn Hardcore Spanish (Latin America): Yo animo a mi primo a leer el libro verde. - I encourage my cousin to read the green book.

It means "I encourage my cousin to read the green book." The sentence breaks down as follows: Yo means "I"; animo is the first-person singular form of animar (to encourage); a mi primo indicates "my cousin" (with the personal a marking a human object); and a leer el libro verde shows the action being encouraged, with leer in the infinitive and libro verde meaning "green book."

Why is the preposition a used twice in this sentence?

The first a, before mi primo, is the personal a required by Spanish when the direct object is a specific person. The second a is part of the standard construction after verbs like animar—the pattern is animar a alguien a hacer algo ("to encourage someone to do something"), so it introduces the infinitive clause a leer el libro verde.

Why is the infinitive leer used instead of a conjugated verb?

After verbs such as animar, Spanish often uses the infinitive to express the action that is being encouraged, permitted, or expected. In this case, leer remains in its non-conjugated form because it follows the structure animar a alguien a + infinitive, which correctly conveys the idea of "encouraging someone to read."

Why does the adjective verde come after the noun libro instead of before it?

In Spanish, descriptive adjectives—especially those describing colors—typically follow the noun they modify. Therefore, el libro verde ("the green book") is the natural word order, as opposed to placing verde before libro.

Is it necessary to include the subject pronoun Yo at the beginning, since the verb animo already shows the subject?

No, it isn’t strictly necessary because the verb ending in -o already indicates the first-person singular. However, including Yo can add emphasis or clarity, particularly if you want to stress that “I” am the one who encourages.

What if my cousin is female instead of male?

If your cousin is female, you would change primo to prima. The sentence would then be: Yo animo a mi prima a leer el libro verde. This change reflects the gender agreement required in Spanish nouns.