Voy a volver a leer la novela corta con mi sobrina.

I am going to read the short novel again with my niece.

Breakdown of Voy a volver a leer la novela corta con mi sobrina.

• yo: I
• con: with
• a: to
• ir: to go
• la sobrina: the niece
• la novela: the novel
• corto: short
• volver a leer: to read again

Questions & Answers about Voy a volver a leer la novela corta con mi sobrina.

Why is there no yo at the beginning? Can I say Yo voy a volver a leer…?

Spanish normally drops subject pronouns when the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

• Voy already tells us it’s “I go / I am going”.
• So Yo voy a volver a leer… is correct, but the yo is optional and often sounds unnecessary unless you want to emphasize I (as opposed to someone else).

Both are grammatically fine:

• Voy a volver a leer la novela corta… (more natural)
• Yo voy a volver a leer la novela corta… (emphasis on I)

Why is it voy a instead of using the future tense like volveré a leer?

Spanish has two common ways to talk about the future:

1. Ir a + infinitive (near future, very common in speech)

   • Voy a volver a leer la novela corta…
     = “I’m going to read the short novel again…”

2. Simple future (also correct, sometimes a bit more formal or neutral)

   • Volveré a leer la novela corta…
     = “I will read the short novel again…”

Both are correct in Latin American Spanish. Voy a + infinitive is extremely common in everyday conversation, especially for plans and intentions.

What does volver a + infinitive mean exactly, and how is it different from leer otra vez?

Volver a + infinitive means “to do [something] again” or “to do [something] once more”.

• volver a leer = “to read again”
• Voy a volver a leer la novela corta… = “I’m going to read the short novel again…”

Difference with otra vez:

• leer otra vez la novela = “to read the novel again”
• volver a leer la novela = “to read the novel again”

They are almost interchangeable. Subtle points:

• volver a + infinitive feels a bit more like “to go back to doing X”.
• otra vez is just “again” and can go in different places:
  
  • Voy a leer la novela otra vez.
  • Voy a leer otra vez la novela.

In practice, both are very common and natural.

Is it okay to have a volver a leer with two a’s so close together (voy a volver a leer)?

Yes, it’s completely normal and correct.

You have:

• voy a (from ir a + infinitive)
• volver a (from volver a + infinitive)

So the sequence is:

• Voy a volver a leer…

Native speakers say this without thinking about the repeated a. You don’t change or remove any of them; each a belongs to its own structure.

Can I change the word order? For example: Voy a leer la novela corta otra vez con mi sobrina?

Yes, several word orders are possible and natural, with small differences in emphasis:

• Voy a volver a leer la novela corta con mi sobrina.
  (Original; emphasizes the idea of “reading again.”)

• Voy a leer la novela corta otra vez con mi sobrina.
  (Uses otra vez instead of volver a.)

• Voy a volver a leer la novela corta otra vez con mi sobrina.
  (A bit redundant: “I’m going to read the short novel again again,” but people do say things like this for emphasis.)

• Voy a volver a leer con mi sobrina la novela corta.
  (Still correct, just a slightly different rhythm.)

What doesn’t sound right:

• Voy a volver la novela corta a leer. (unnatural word order)

The most natural options are with volver a leer together and the object right after:

• Voy a volver a leer la novela corta con mi sobrina.
• Voy a leer la novela corta otra vez con mi sobrina.

Why is it novela corta and not novela corto?

Because adjectives must agree in gender and number with the noun.

• novela is feminine singular (la novela)
• so the adjective has to be feminine singular: corta

Patterns:

• masculine singular: corto
• feminine singular: corta
• masculine plural: cortos
• feminine plural: cortas

Examples:

• un coche corto (a short car)
• una novela corta (a short novel)
• tres historias cortas (three short stories)

Why is the adjective after the noun (novela corta) instead of before it?

In Spanish, the normal position for most adjectives is after the noun:

• novela corta (short novel)
• libro interesante (interesting book)
• película larga (long movie)

Some adjectives can go before or after the noun with slightly different shades of meaning, but corta here is used in its basic descriptive sense, so after is typical.

• una corta novela is possible but unusual and would sound a bit literary or marked; una novela corta is the standard way to say “a short novel.”

Why is it la novela corta and not just novela corta or una novela corta?

The definite article la (“the”) suggests that both speaker and listener know which novel is being talked about, or it has already been mentioned.

• Voy a volver a leer la novela corta…
  = “I’m going to read the short novel again…” (a specific one)

Other options:

• Voy a volver a leer una novela corta…
  = “I’m going to read a short novel again…” (not specific which one)
• Voy a volver a leer novelas cortas…
  = “I’m going to read short novels again…” (in general, plural)

Spanish uses definite articles more often than English, especially when a specific item is clearly identified in the context.

What does sobrina mean, and how is it different from nieta?

• sobrina = niece (daughter of your brother or sister)

  • mi sobrina = my niece
  • mi sobrino = my nephew

• nieta = granddaughter (daughter of your son or daughter)

  • mi nieta = my granddaughter
  • mi nieto = my grandson

In the sentence:

• con mi sobrina = “with my niece”

Does con mi sobrina mean “reading together with her” or “reading to her”?

con mi sobrina literally means “with my niece”, and it usually implies doing the activity together:

• Voy a volver a leer la novela corta con mi sobrina.
  = I’m going to read the short novel again with my niece (you and your niece are involved in the reading activity).

If you specifically want to say you are reading to her (she listens, you read), you might say:

• Voy a volver a leer la novela corta a mi sobrina.
  = I’m going to read the short novel again to my niece.

Both can overlap in meaning in real life, but grammatically:

• con = with (together)
• a = to (as the indirect object)

Can I move con mi sobrina to the beginning of the sentence?

Yes. Spanish word order is flexible for phrases like this, especially prepositional phrases of time, place, or company.

Examples:

• Con mi sobrina, voy a volver a leer la novela corta.
• Voy a volver a leer la novela corta con mi sobrina. (original)

Both are correct. Putting con mi sobrina first can slightly emphasize “with my niece”.

Could I say Voy a estar leyendo la novela corta con mi sobrina instead? Is that similar?

Voy a estar leyendo… uses the near future of the progressive:

• Voy a estar leyendo la novela corta con mi sobrina.
  = “I’m going to be reading the short novel with my niece.”

Difference:

• Voy a volver a leer… emphasizes that this is again (a repeated action).
• Voy a estar leyendo… emphasizes the ongoing nature of the future action (“I will be in the middle of reading”).

If you want to keep the “again” idea with a progressive, you could say:

• Voy a estar volviendo a leer la novela corta…

But that sounds awkward and uncommon; native speakers almost always prefer:

• Voy a volver a leer la novela corta…
  for the idea of “I’m going to read the short novel again.”