Eu preciso ler o relatório agora.

I need to read the report now.

Breakdown of Eu preciso ler o relatório agora.

• eu: I
• o: the
• agora: now
• precisar: to need
• ler: to read
• o relatório: the report

Questions & Answers about Eu preciso ler o relatório agora.

Why is the verb precisar used without a preposition before the infinitive ler?

In Portuguese, when you want to say “need to do something,” you use precisar + infinitive directly. You only add de when precisar is followed by a noun:

• Eu preciso de dinheiro.
• Eu preciso ler o relatório agora.

No preposition is required between precisar and a verb.

Can I drop the subject pronoun Eu in this sentence?

Yes. Portuguese is a “pro-drop” language, which means the subject pronoun is optional when the verb ending already indicates the person. So you can say:

• Preciso ler o relatório agora.

Including Eu (as in Eu preciso…) is still correct and can add a bit of emphasis on “I.”

Why do we say o relatório instead of just relatório?

Portuguese often uses definite articles before nouns even when English wouldn’t. By saying o relatório, you specify a particular report. Omitting the article (​ler relatório) sounds unnatural or too telegraphic unless you’re writing a very terse note. Always use the article to point to that specific document.

Where can the adverb agora appear in the sentence?

Adverbs in Portuguese are quite flexible. Common placements for agora are:

• End of sentence (most natural): Eu preciso ler o relatório agora.
• Sentence-initial (emphasizes “now”): Agora eu preciso ler o relatório.
• After the subject (less common, still correct): Eu agora preciso ler o relatório.

Choose based on which word you want to stress.

What’s the difference between precisar ler and ter que ler?

Both express necessity, but:

• precisar + infinitive (“preciso ler”) is direct and neutral.
• ter que + infinitive (“tenho que ler”) can feel more colloquial or obligatory, like “I’ve got to read.”

In Brazil, both forms are widely used—ter que may sound a bit more casual.

How do I pronounce relatório, and why is there an accent on the ó?

relatório is pronounced roughly /ʁe.la.ˈtɔ.ɾi.u/ in Brazilian Portuguese, with the stress on the tó syllable. The acute accent on ó indicates:

1. That this syllable is stressed.
2. It’s an open vowel sound ([ɔ]), not a closed one ([o]).

Without the accent, you’d get a different stress pattern or vowel quality.

Could I say Preciso agora eu ler o relatório?

That word order sounds awkward to native speakers. Usually you’d pick one of these more natural variants:

• Agora eu preciso ler o relatório.
• Eu preciso, agora, ler o relatório.
• Preciso ler o relatório agora.

Mixing “preciso” + “agora” + “eu” in that sequence breaks the usual rhythm.