Why You're Probably Saying 'Again' Wrong in Spanish: the Native Habit Most Beginners Miss
By James H. Sterling
The single most effective shortcut to sounding natural in Spanish is adopting volver a + infinitive. This construction is a classic Spanish verb periphrasis, a grammatical pairing of an auxiliary verb and a non-finite verb that functions as a single semantic unit.
The verb volver literally means "to return." When paired with the preposition a and an infinitive verb, its meaning transforms entirely into "to do [action] again." Instead of saying Leí el libro otra vez, a native speaker says Volví a leer el libro.
[Conjugated form of VOLVER] + a + [Infinitive Verb]
This construction is remarkably flexible across tenses. Consider these daily conversational shifts:
- Vuelvo a intentar (I try again) vs. Intento otra vez.
- Volvió a llover (It rained again) vs. Llovió de nuevo.
- No lo volveré a hacer (I won't do it again) vs. No lo haré otra vez.
- He vuelto a perder las llaves (I lost my keys again) vs. Perdí las llaves otra vez.
Notice the placement of object pronouns. With volver a, pronouns can either attach to the infinitive or precede the conjugated auxiliary: Volví a llamarlo or Lo volví a llamar. The latter is the overwhelming favorite in spontaneous dialogue across Latin America and Spain. It bundles the object, the repetition, and the action into a smooth, four-syllable unit.
James Sterling reports on renewable energy developments, climate policy, ecological conservation, and green tech innovations around the globe.
