Breakdown of O relatório enviado está na mesa.
Questions & Answers about O relatório enviado está na mesa.
In O relatório enviado está na mesa, enviado is not part of the main verb.
- The main verb is está (3rd person singular of estar).
- enviado is a past participle used as an adjective modifying relatório.
So o relatório enviado literally means “the sent report”, or more naturally “the report that was sent”.
You can think of it as a shortened version of o relatório que foi enviado.
Yes, you can say:
- O relatório enviado está na mesa.
- O relatório que foi enviado está na mesa.
They mean essentially the same thing: “The report that was sent is on the table.”
Differences:
- O relatório enviado is a bit shorter and more compact.
- O relatório que foi enviado is more explicit and can sound slightly more formal or more explanatory.
In everyday Portuguese, both forms are fine, and your choice often comes down to style and rhythm of the sentence.
In Portuguese, most adjectives (and participles used as adjectives) usually come after the noun:
- relatório enviado – “sent report”
- casa bonita – “beautiful house”
- livro interessante – “interesting book”
Putting the adjective before the noun is possible but either:
- Changes nuance (more subjective, expressive), or
- Sounds literary / marked.
So enviado relatório would sound wrong here. The natural order is relatório enviado.
Yes, enviado agrees in gender and number with the noun it modifies.
- o relatório enviado – masculine singular
- os relatórios enviados – masculine plural
- a carta enviada – feminine singular
- as cartas enviadas – feminine plural
The ending of enviado changes to -o / -a / -os / -as to match the noun:
- relatório → enviado
- cartas → enviadas
Na is a contraction:
- em + a = na (feminine singular)
- em + o = no (masculine singular)
- em + as = nas
- em + os = nos
Since mesa is feminine (a mesa), we must say na mesa:
- está em a mesa → está na mesa ✅
- no mesa ❌ (because mesa is not masculine)
The preposition em (→ na here) is quite flexible. In this context:
- O relatório enviado está na mesa.
= “The sent report is on the table.”
For a physical object resting on the surface, English normally uses on.
Portuguese still uses em (→ na), and context tells you it’s “on” rather than “in”.
“At the table” could also be na mesa in some contexts, especially when talking about where people are sitting, but here it clearly means on the table.
Portuguese uses:
- estar for location of people and things (and temporary states)
- ser for inherent characteristics, identity, time, origin, etc.
So for the location of an object, you normally use estar:
- O relatório está na mesa. – The report is on the table. ✅
- O hotel é em Lisboa. – The hotel is in Lisbon. ✅ (location as a more “fixed” characteristic of the hotel)
- O relatório é na mesa. ❌ (sounds wrong for “is on the table”)
In your sentence, we’re just saying where the report is right now, so está is correct.
No. Even though enviado looks like “sent”, it’s not forming a perfect tense here.
- There is no auxiliary like ter or ser before enviado.
- So enviado is just an adjective / participle describing the report.
The structure is:
- O relatório enviado – “the report that was sent”
- está na mesa – “is on the table”
So the meaning is simply:
“The report that was sent is on the table.”
not “The report has been sent is on the table.”
In normal sentences, no. In European Portuguese, you almost always need the definite article with a specific countable noun:
- O relatório enviado está na mesa. ✅
- Relatório enviado está na mesa. ❌ (sounds like a headline or a note on a label)
You might drop the article in:
- Headlines
- Labels
- Very terse notes
e.g. on a post-it: Relatório enviado na mesa.
But in regular spoken or written Portuguese, O relatório enviado… is the natural form.
No, that sounds wrong.
Two issues:
enviado is not describing “how” the report is on the table.
You’re not saying “it is sent on the table”.The structure in Portuguese is:
- [Noun + participle] + [verb + place] → O relatório enviado está na mesa.
If you want enviado as part of a verbal phrase, you’d need an auxiliary:
- O relatório foi enviado. – The report was sent.
- O relatório tinha sido enviado. – The report had been sent.
But with location, keep it as in the original sentence:
O relatório enviado está na mesa.
Yes, that word order is possible in Portuguese and can sound natural, especially:
- to emphasise “na mesa” (where it is), or
- in more formal or written styles.
Examples:
- O relatório enviado está na mesa. – neutral, most common.
- Está na mesa o relatório enviado. – slightly more marked; focus on the location.
Both are grammatical. The first is more typical in everyday speech.
Yes, there is a nuance:
o relatório enviado
→ neutral about who sent it or when; just “the report that was sent”.o relatório que enviei
→ explicitly “the report that I sent”; it specifies the subject (I) and sounds more personal.
So:
O relatório enviado está na mesa.
– The report that was sent is on the table. (sender not specified)O relatório que enviei está na mesa.
– The report that I sent is on the table. (you are the sender)
Yes, depending on context and formality you might also find:
- mandado – more informal / everyday in some contexts
- remetido – more formal, used in written / bureaucratic language
- expedido – very formal/technical (administrative, postal, legal)
In your sentence, you could occasionally see:
- O relatório remetido está na mesa. (formal)
But enviado is the most neutral and common choice.