Questions & Answers about Lê o relatório com atenção.
In this sentence, Lê is the imperative form of the verb ler (to read), addressing one person informally (the tu form).
So Lê o relatório com atenção means Read the report carefully (talking to you, one person, in an informal way).
Yes, in writing Lê can also be the 3rd person singular present of ler:
- ele/ela lê = he/she reads
So the sentence Lê o relatório com atenção could theoretically mean:
- He/She reads the report carefully.
In practice, you distinguish by context and punctuation:
- As a standalone instruction (on a worksheet, email, sign): it is almost certainly an imperative: Read the report carefully.
- In narrative with a clear subject before or after, it’s more likely present tense:
- Ele lê o relatório com atenção. = He reads the report carefully.
Spoken Portuguese uses intonation to make a command clear, but in isolation this sentence is most naturally read as an imperative.
Portuguese normally drops subject pronouns when the verb ending already shows who the subject is.
- Full version: Tu lê o relatório com atenção. (informal you)
- Natural version: Lê o relatório com atenção.
In the imperative, especially, it’s very normal to leave out the subject (tu, vocês, etc.) unless you want to emphasize it.
Here, Lê is the imperative form for tu (informal, usually younger people, friends, family in Portugal).
Forms of ler in the imperative (affirmative) in European Portuguese:
- (tu) → Lê o relatório. (informal singular)
- (você) → Leia o relatório. (polite/formal singular)
- (vocês) → Leiam o relatório. (plural you)
So:
- To a friend: Lê o relatório com atenção.
- To your boss (formally): Leia o relatório com atenção.
- To your team (several people): Leiam o relatório com atenção.
In Portuguese, definite articles (o, a, os, as) are used much more often than in English.
- o relatório = the report
Here, we are talking about a specific report, so the article o is needed.
Saying Lê relatório com atenção is not natural; it sounds wrong or at best very telegraphic (like a note of key words, not a proper sentence).
Yes, com atenção literally means with attention, and in this context it corresponds to:
- Read the report carefully / attentively.
Nuance:
- com atenção = paying attention, being focused, not distracted
- It’s a very common, neutral expression for “carefully” when talking about reading, listening, watching, etc.
You could also say:
- Lê o relatório atentamente. (more adverb-like, “attentively”)
- Lê o relatório com muito cuidado. (“with great care”, slightly stronger)
But com atenção is the most everyday, natural phrasing.
Yes, that word order is grammatically correct, but it’s less common and sounds a bit more marked or stylized.
Most natural:
- Lê o relatório com atenção.
Also possible:
- Lê o relatório atentamente.
- Lê com atenção o relatório. (emphasizes with attention a bit more)
In everyday speech and writing, the original order is the standard choice.
Use the plural imperative:
- Leiam o relatório com atenção. = (You all) read the report carefully.
This addresses vocês (you plural) in European Portuguese.
You can include the pronoun for emphasis:
- Vocês, leiam o relatório com atenção.
For the negative imperative, Portuguese actually uses the present subjunctive forms.
For tu (informal singular):
- Não leias o relatório sem atenção.
= Don’t read the report without paying attention. - Não leias o relatório à pressa.
= Don’t read the report in a rush.
For você (formal singular):
- Não leia o relatório sem atenção.
For vocês (plural):
- Não leiam o relatório sem atenção.
Note:
- Affirmative tu: Lê o relatório.
- Negative tu: Não leias o relatório.
The circumflex accent (ê) shows that:
- The vowel e is stressed.
- It is a closed mid vowel (a bit like the e in English “say”, but shorter and without the glide).
Pronunciation (European Portuguese):
- Lê ≈ [le], one syllable, not like English “lee” and not like “lay”.
The accent also distinguishes lê from other possible forms and fits the general spelling rules for stressed, closed e.
Ler o relatório com atenção uses the infinitive ler, so it does not sound like a direct command by itself.
You would use ler in structures like:
- Tens de ler o relatório com atenção.
= You have to read the report carefully. - É importante ler o relatório com atenção.
= It’s important to read the report carefully.
If you want a direct instruction (“Read the report carefully.”), you need the imperative:
- Lê o relatório com atenção. (tu)
- Leia o relatório com atenção. (você)
- Leiam o relatório com atenção. (vocês)
You can replace o relatório with a direct object pronoun o (it, masculine singular):
- Lê-o com atenção. (informal singular, tu)
Other persons:
- Leia-o com atenção. (formal singular, você)
- Leiam-no com atenção. (plural, vocês – here o changes to no for phonetic reasons)
In European Portuguese, these pronouns are normally attached to the end of the verb in affirmative commands (enclisis): lê-o, leia-o, leiam-no.
Relatório is the standard word for a formal report, often written, structured, possibly with sections:
- business report
- school/university report
- technical report
Similar words:
- relato – an account / narration of what happened, often less formal.
- reportagem – a news report (journalism, TV, newspapers).
- boletim – bulletin (e.g. boletim meteorológico = weather report).
For a typical work or academic report, relatório is the usual word.
It’s a neutral command in itself. The tone comes from context and intonation:
- Neutral / instructional: on a worksheet or in written instructions:
- Lê o relatório com atenção antes de responder às perguntas.
- Polite, but still a directive:
- Por favor, lê o relatório com atenção.
- Stronger / more serious (spoken, with firm tone):
- Olha, lê o relatório com atenção, está bem? (Look, read the report carefully, OK?)
So grammatically it’s neutral; politeness and force depend on added words (por favor, olha, etc.) and voice tone.