La mensajera volvió por la tarde y dejó otro paquete junto al sofá.

Mensajera is the feminine form of mensajero, meaning courier, messenger, or delivery person.

• el mensajero = a male courier
• la mensajera = a female courier

In this sentence, the speaker is specifically referring to a woman, so la mensajera is used.

Volvió comes from the verb volver, which usually means to return or to come back.

Here it is in the preterite tense:

• yo volví
• tú volviste
• él/ella volvió

The preterite is used because the sentence describes a completed action in the past: the courier came back, and that action is seen as finished.

Dejó comes from dejar, meaning to leave or to put down / drop off, depending on context.

It is also in the preterite because it describes another completed past action:

• she returned
• she left another package

Both actions happened as finished events, so Spanish uses the preterite for both:

• volvió
• dejó

Por la tarde means in the afternoon or sometimes later in the day, depending on context.

Spanish commonly uses:

• por la mañana = in the morning
• por la tarde = in the afternoon
• por la noche = at night / in the evening

So por la tarde is a fixed expression for the time of day.

In Spanish, otro normally does not take un/una before it.

So Spanish says:

• otro paquete = another package

Not:

• un otro paquete ❌

This is different from English, where another already contains the idea of an + other. In Spanish, otro by itself does that job.

Otro normally goes before the noun:

• otro paquete
• otra casa
• otros libros

That is the standard word order in Spanish. It works like an adjective, but it usually comes before the noun rather than after it.

Junto a means next to, beside, or by.

So:

• junto al sofá = next to the sofa

The form al is a contraction of a + el:

• junto a el sofá ❌
• junto al sofá ✅

This contraction is required in Spanish whenever a + el come together, except when el is part of a proper name.

Yes. Junto al sofá and al lado del sofá are both natural and mean roughly next to the sofa.

There can be a slight difference in feel:

• junto a can sound a little more direct or slightly more formal
• al lado de is very common in everyday speech

In this sentence, either one would sound natural.

Spanish often uses the definite article where English may or may not use the.

Here:

• por la tarde is a fixed expression, so it uses la
• junto al sofá refers to a specific sofa in the situation, so el is natural

Spanish generally uses articles more often than English, especially with set time expressions and with known objects in context.

The original order is the most neutral and natural:

La mensajera volvió por la tarde y dejó otro paquete junto al sofá.

But Spanish word order is somewhat flexible. For example, you could also say:

• La mensajera volvió por la tarde y dejó junto al sofá otro paquete.

That still works, but it slightly shifts the focus toward where the package was left. The original version sounds more straightforward.

The written accents show where the stress falls:

• volvió
• dejó
• sofá

They are important because Spanish spelling follows stress rules, and these words need an accent mark to show the correct pronunciation.

For example:

• dejo = I leave
• dejó = he/she left

So the accent can also help distinguish different verb forms.

It describes a sequence of completed events in the past:

1. the courier returned
2. she left another package

This is exactly the kind of situation where Spanish typically uses the preterite rather than the imperfect.

The sentence is not focusing on background, habit, or an ongoing action. It is telling you what happened.

No. Here dejó means left in the sense of placed, dropped off, or left behind an object.

Spanish dejar can mean different things depending on context, for example:

• Dejó el libro en la mesa. = He/She left the book on the table.
• Dejó de fumar. = He/She stopped smoking.
• Dejó la oficina a las seis. = He/She left the office at six.

In your sentence, because the object is otro paquete, the meaning is clearly left/dropped off another package.

Mensajera is perfectly understandable and natural. It suggests a courier or delivery person, often someone delivering packages or messages.

Depending on context, people in Spain might also say things like:

• repartidora = female delivery worker
• la del mensajero / la de mensajería in very informal speech
• transportista in some contexts, though that can be broader

But la mensajera is a normal and clear choice.

The verb volver can sometimes mean to turn in certain expressions, but by itself it very often means to return / come back.

In this sentence, because of the context, volvió is naturally understood as returned or came back. The rest of the sentence makes that interpretation clear.

For to turn, Spanish often uses expressions such as:

• volver la cabeza = to turn one’s head
• volverse
  • adjective = to become
• girar = to turn / rotate

So here, volvió is clearly about returning.