Eu vou denunciar o crime.

Questions & Answers about Eu vou denunciar o crime.

Can I leave out Eu and just say Vou denunciar o crime?

Yes. In Brazilian Portuguese, subject pronouns are often omitted when the verb already makes the subject clear.

So:

  • Eu vou denunciar o crime.
  • Vou denunciar o crime.

Both are correct.

Including eu can add:

  • emphasis: I’m going to report the crime.
  • contrast: Eu vou denunciar, mas ele não.
  • clarity, if needed in context

In everyday speech, dropping eu is very common.

Why is it vou denunciar instead of a single future-tense verb?

Because ir + infinitive is one of the most common ways to talk about the future in Brazilian Portuguese.

  • Eu vou denunciar o crime. = natural, common spoken Portuguese
  • Eu denunciarei o crime. = correct, but more formal, stiff, or literary

So even though Portuguese has a simple future tense, Brazilians often prefer:

  • vou falar
  • vou fazer
  • vou denunciar

This is very similar to English I’m going to report.

What exactly does denunciar mean here?

Denunciar usually means:

  • to report
  • to denounce
  • to accuse/report to the authorities

In this sentence, it most naturally means to report the crime, especially to the police or another authority.

A useful nuance:

  • denunciar um crime = report a crime
  • denunciar alguém = report or turn someone in
  • denunciar corrupção = expose or denounce corruption

So it is stronger and more official than just casually mentioning something.

Why is there no preposition before o crime?

Because denunciar normally takes a direct object.

So you say:

  • denunciar o crime
  • denunciar o suspeito
  • denunciar a fraude

Not:

  • denunciar ao crime ❌

If you want to say to whom you are reporting it, then you may add that separately:

  • Vou denunciar o crime à polícia.

Here:

  • o crime = the thing being reported
  • à polícia = the authority receiving the report
Why is it o crime and not just crime?

Portuguese often uses articles where English may not.

So o crime can mean:

  • the crime
  • that crime
  • a specific crime already understood from context

Using the article sounds natural in most normal sentences.

Without the article, crime sounds more generic, abstract, or like a headline/category in many contexts.

Compare:

  • Vou denunciar o crime. = I’m going to report the crime.
  • Crime deve ser punido. = Crime must be punished.
    Here it is generic, so no article is more natural.
Is crime masculine? How do I know?

Yes, crime is masculine:

  • o crime
  • um crime

You know here because of the article o.

This is useful because noun endings do not always tell you the gender clearly. Words ending in -e can be either masculine or feminine, so it is best to learn the noun together with its article:

  • o crime
  • a cidade
  • o nome
  • a noite
How is vou pronounced?

In Brazilian Portuguese, vou is pronounced roughly like voh with a light w-like glide at the end.

A rough English approximation is:

  • vou ≈ voh/voo blended quickly

It is not exactly like any one English word, but it is close to the vowel in go, depending on accent.

The whole sentence is roughly:

  • eu vou denunciar o crime
  • eh-ooh voh denoon-see-AR oo KREE-mee

That is only an approximation, but a few key points help:

  • denunciar is stressed on the last syllable: -ar
  • the r in crime is the Portuguese tapped/flapped r
  • eu is often pronounced very quickly
Do Brazilians pronounce the final -r in denunciar?

Often very weakly, and in casual speech it may sound like it disappears.

So:

  • careful speech: denunciar
  • casual speech in much of Brazil: something closer to denunciá

This is only a pronunciation change. The spelling stays denunciar.

That means vou denunciar o crime may sound more like:

  • vou denunciá o crime

This is normal in everyday Brazilian speech.

Could I also say irei denunciar or denunciarei?

Yes, both are grammatically correct.

  • Eu vou denunciar o crime. = most common in everyday speech
  • Eu irei denunciar o crime. = correct, a bit more formal
  • Eu denunciarei o crime. = correct, more formal, official, or literary

If your goal is natural spoken Brazilian Portuguese, vou denunciar is usually the best choice.

What is the difference between o crime, esse crime, and um crime?

They change how specific the noun is.

  • o crime = the crime; a specific one understood from context
  • esse crime = that crime / this crime you just mentioned
  • um crime = a crime; not yet specific

Examples:

  • Vou denunciar o crime.
    The listener already knows which crime you mean.

  • Vou denunciar esse crime.
    More explicitly points to that particular crime.

  • Vou denunciar um crime.
    You are introducing it as new information.

Is denunciar always the best verb for report?

Often yes, especially for reporting wrongdoing, abuse, corruption, or a crime.

But depending on context, Portuguese may use other expressions too:

  • denunciar o crime = report the crime
  • registrar uma ocorrência = file a police report / register an incident
  • fazer um boletim de ocorrência = file a police report
  • comunicar = communicate/inform, more neutral or formal

Also, be careful with near-synonyms:

  • delatar often means inform on / turn someone in, and can sound more like snitch on
  • reportar exists, but in Brazil it can sound technical, bureaucratic, or influenced by English depending on context

So in this sentence, denunciar is a very good and natural choice.

If I replace o crime with it, what would Portuguese use?

In more formal Portuguese, you could use an object pronoun:

  • Vou denunciá-lo.

That literally means I’m going to report it.

Notice what happens:

  • denunciar + o becomes denunciá-lo

But in everyday spoken Brazilian Portuguese, people often avoid these attached object pronouns and may prefer something like:

  • Vou denunciar isso.
  • Vou denunciar esse crime.

So denunciá-lo is correct, but it sounds more formal or written than many learners expect.

Is the word order fixed here?

The normal word order is:

  • Eu vou denunciar o crime.

But Portuguese allows some flexibility, especially for emphasis.

Common natural versions:

  • Eu vou denunciar o crime.
  • Vou denunciar o crime.

Less neutral, more emphatic or marked:

  • O crime, eu vou denunciar.

That last one is possible, but it sounds like you are emphasizing the crime specifically. For a learner, the basic order is the safest and most natural choice.

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