Eu escrevo o relatório com calma.

I write the report calmly.

Breakdown of Eu escrevo o relatório com calma.

• eu: I
• escrever: to write
• o relatório: the report
• com calma: calmly

Questions & Answers about Eu escrevo o relatório com calma.

Why is o used before relatório instead of using no article or um?

In European Portuguese, definite articles are used more often than in English. Here, o relatório points to a specific report you and your listener both know about. If you wanted to say “a report” in a general sense, you would use um relatório. Omitting the article entirely (like English “write report”) is not idiomatic in Portuguese for known objects.

Do I have to use com calma? Why not the adverb calmamente?

Both com calma and calmamente mean “calmly,” but com calma is more common in everyday European Portuguese, especially in spoken language. It literally means “with calmness” and often conveys “take your time” or “without rushing.” Calmamente is correct but sounds more formal or book-ish.

How would I express “I am writing the report calmly” in the progressive (continuous) tense?

European Portuguese forms the continuous with estar a + infinitive. So “I am writing the report calmly” becomes: Estou a escrever o relatório com calma. Note that in Brazil you’d say Estou escrevendo o relatório com calma, using the gerund.

Can I move com calma to the beginning of the sentence?

Yes. As an adverbial phrase, com calma can come first for emphasis: Com calma, escrevo o relatório. You can even drop Eu because Portuguese often omits subject pronouns when the verb form makes it clear.

What exactly does com calma convey—“calmly,” “slowly,” or “carefully”?

Com calma focuses on not being in a hurry and keeping a relaxed pace. It can mean:

• calmly (without stress)
• taking one’s time (so maybe more slowly) It doesn’t necessarily imply extra “care” in the sense of precision (that would be cuidadosamente).

Why is there no preposition before o relatório? English often uses “write on” or “write about.”

In Portuguese, escrever is a transitive verb that directly takes its object. You write o relatório (the report) without any extra preposition. If you write on a surface, you could say escrever no papel (“write on the paper”), but when naming the document itself, just use the direct object.

Could I drop the subject pronoun Eu here?

Yes. Portuguese is a pro-drop language: verb endings already tell you who’s acting. Escrevo o relatório com calma is perfectly natural and probably more common in everyday speech than including Eu.

What nuance does the simple present escrevo carry? Habit or current action?

The Portuguese simple present can express:

• A habitual action: “I write reports calmly (as a habit).”
• A current action (especially if context or an adverb makes it clear). If you want to stress “right now,” the progressive (estou a escrever) is more precise.

How do I pronounce relatório and calma?

In European Portuguese:

• relatório [ʁɨ.lɐˈtɔ.ɾju] – the r at the start is a guttural sound like the French R, the ó is closed, and -rio is pronounced [ju].
• calma [ˈkaw.mɐ] – open a in the first syllable, and the final a is a more muted [ɐ].