Mi sobrina prefiere leer una novela corta en lugar de ver televisión.

Prefiere is the third person singular (he/she/it, or usted) form of the verb preferir (to prefer) in the present indicative tense.

• Infinitive: preferir = to prefer
• Yo: prefiero (I prefer)
• Tú: prefieres (you prefer)
• Él/Ella/Usted: prefiere (he/she/you formal prefers)
• Nosotros: preferimos
• Ustedes/Ellos/Ellas: prefieren

In the sentence, prefiere agrees with mi sobrina (my niece), which is third person singular.

In Spanish, after verbs like preferir, when you express what someone prefers to do, you normally use the infinitive:

• Mi sobrina prefiere leer = My niece prefers to read.
• Prefiero dormir = I prefer to sleep.

Similarly, after the preposition de (in en lugar de) you must use an infinitive:

• en lugar de ver televisión = instead of watching TV

So:

• prefiere leer (she prefers to read)
• en lugar de ver (instead of watching)

Using prefiere lee or en lugar de ve would be incorrect.

Spanish usually needs an article (definite or indefinite) in places where English might omit it.

• una novela corta = a short novel
  Without una, novela corta would sound incomplete or like a label/title rather than a normal object.

Compare:

• Quiero leer una novela corta. = I want to read a short novel.
• Novela corta (alone) is more like saying short novel as a category, not as a specific thing you want to read.

Two things are going on here: gender and adjective position.

1. Gender

   • novela is feminine: la novela
   • Therefore the article must be feminine: una novela (not un novela).

2. Adjective position and form

   • corto/corta must agree in gender and number with novela → novela corta.
   • Most descriptive adjectives go after the noun in Spanish:
     • una novela corta = a short novel
     • un coche nuevo = a new car

So the correct order and agreement is una novela corta, not un corto novela.

You could, but it would sound unusual and literary or poetic.

In everyday Spanish, descriptive adjectives like corta go after the noun:

• Normal: una novela corta
• Very marked / poetic: una corta novela

Putting the adjective before the noun often adds emphasis or a special nuance, but here it isn’t natural in regular conversation.

En lugar de literally means “in place of” and is commonly used as “instead of.”

Structure:

• en lugar de + noun
  • en lugar de la película = instead of the movie
• en lugar de + infinitive
  • en lugar de ver televisión = instead of watching TV

In the sentence:

• en lugar de ver televisión = instead of watching television

Both usually translate to “instead of” and are often interchangeable:

• Prefiere leer en lugar de ver televisión.
• Prefiere leer en vez de ver televisión.

In everyday use, there is almost no difference in meaning. En vez de may be slightly more common in casual speech in some regions, but en lugar de is also very normal and maybe a bit more “neutral” or formal in tone.

Both ver and mirar can be used with televisión, but their usual tendencies are:

• ver televisión = to watch TV (more common and neutral)
• mirar televisión = also “to watch TV,” but mirar focuses a bit more on the act of looking.

In much of Latin America, ver televisión is the standard phrase. Mirar televisión is also heard in some countries (e.g., parts of the Southern Cone), but ver televisión will be understood everywhere.

Both are possible:

• ver televisión
• ver la televisión

In many contexts, televisión is treated like an activity or medium, so the article is often dropped:

• Me gusta ver televisión. = I like watching TV (as an activity).

If you say ver la televisión, it can sound slightly more specific, like “watch the television,” but in everyday speech the difference is small, and ver televisión is very common in Latin America.

Only the word for niece/nephew changes:

• Mi sobrina prefiere leer una novela corta en lugar de ver televisión.
  
  • My niece prefers…
• Mi sobrino prefiere leer una novela corta en lugar de ver televisión.
  
  • My nephew prefers…

The verb prefiere stays the same (still third person singular), and the rest of the sentence doesn’t change.

Grammatically, yes. Spanish often omits the subject when it’s clear from context:

• Prefiere leer una novela corta en lugar de ver televisión.
  = (She/He) prefers to read a short novel instead of watching TV.

However, if the context doesn’t make clear who prefiere, you need something like Mi sobrina or a subject pronoun Ella:

• Ella prefiere leer una novela corta…
• Mi sobrina prefiere leer una novela corta…

In Spanish, the simple present (prefiere) can express both:

1. Habit/general preference

   • Mi sobrina prefiere leer… = My niece generally prefers reading… (her usual preference)

2. Present time (right now)
   Context could also make it mean “right now she prefers to read rather than watch TV,” but without extra context, it’s most naturally understood as a habitual preference.

Spanish doesn’t need a separate form like “is preferring”; prefiere covers both uses depending on context.