Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): Hoje cumprimos o plano sem atraso. - Today we fulfilled the plan without delay.

If you include it, Hoje nós cumprimos o plano sem atraso is still correct, but it sounds more emphatic (e.g. contrasting with someone else: Nós did it, not them).

What tense is cumprimos here? Is it we fulfill or we fulfilled?

In both European and Brazilian Portuguese, cumprimos can be:

Present: we fulfill / we carry out
Simple past (pretérito perfeito): we fulfilled / we carried out

In this sentence:

Hoje cumprimos o plano sem atraso.
Context decides the tense:
After the day is over, it normally means past:
→ Today we fulfilled the plan without delay.
If said while the plan is in progress (and nearly done), it can be present:
→ Today we are (successfully) carrying out the plan without delay.

With no extra context, many speakers will naturally understand it as past.

Why cumprir o plano and not something like fazer o plano or seguir o plano?

The verb choice slightly changes the nuance:

cumprir o plano
= to fulfill / meet / carry out the plan
Focus: you achieved what the plan required.
seguir o plano
= to follow the plan
Focus: you obeyed or stuck to the plan.
fazer o plano
Usually means to make / create the plan, not to execute it.

So Hoje cumprimos o plano sem atraso emphasizes that the targets or schedule of the plan were met, not just that you had a plan or followed it roughly.

Why is it o plano and not just plano? Do I always need the article?

Portuguese uses definite articles much more than English:

o plano = the plan
Bare plano (without article) is much less common in this kind of sentence.

Here, o plano suggests a specific plan already known from context (today’s plan, the work plan, etc.).

Compare:

Cumprimos o plano. → We fulfilled the plan (a particular one).
Ter um plano é importante. → Having a plan is important. (general concept; here bare plano is okay because it’s not a specific, previously known plan.)

Can I change the word order? For example, say Hoje cumprimos sem atraso o plano?

Some changes are natural; others sound odd.

Natural options:

Hoje cumprimos o plano sem atraso. (original)
Cumprimos o plano hoje sem atraso.
Cumprimos hoje o plano sem atraso. (slightly more formal/literary)
Hoje, sem atraso, cumprimos o plano. (more emphatic)

Odd or unnatural:

Hoje cumprimos sem atraso o plano.
It’s understandable, but sem atraso in the middle of the verb and object sounds clunky. Adverbial phrases like this usually go after the direct object or at the beginning/end of the sentence.

So in practice, keep sem atraso at the end or near the end.

What exactly does sem atraso mean? Is it like on time in English?

Sem atraso literally means without delay, and in this context it effectively means:

on time, with no delay, without being late.

Common related options:

sem atrasos (plural) – also very common: without (any) delays.
a tempo – literally in time, acceptable but a bit more restricted in use.
pontualmente – punctually, often used with time-sensitive things like meetings, trains, etc.

Here you could also say:

Hoje cumprimos o plano sem atrasos.
Equally natural, maybe even slightly more common in everyday speech.

Why is it atraso and not atrasos? Is there a difference?

Both are correct, with a slight nuance:

sem atraso (singular)
→ more like without delay as a general idea.
sem atrasos (plural)
→ more like without any delays, hinting at multiple possible delays that didn’t happen.

In everyday usage, speakers often alternate between them with almost no difference. In this exact sentence, sem atraso and sem atrasos both sound natural.

How do you pronounce Hoje cumprimos o plano sem atraso in European Portuguese?

Approximate pronunciation (European Portuguese):

Hoje → [ˈo.ʒɨ] (similar to “OH-zh(uh)”)
cumprimos → [kũ.ˈpɾi.muʃ]
- u like English “oo” in “food” but shorter
- final -s sounds like English sh in Portugal.
o → [u] (“oo” sound)
plano → [ˈplɐ.nu]
sem → [sẽj̃] (nasal, roughly “sayn” with nasalized vowel)
atraso → [ɐ.ˈtɾa.zu]

Connected, you’ll often hear something like:

ˈo.ʒɨ kũ.ˈpɾi.muʃ u ˈplɐ.nu sɛ̃j̃ ɐ.ˈtɾa.zu

Is this sentence specifically European Portuguese, or is it also used in Brazilian Portuguese?

The sentence is fully correct and natural in both varieties.

Small tendencies:

In Brazil, people might more often say:
- Hoje cumprimos o cronograma sem atrasos. (using cronograma = schedule)
- or Hoje cumprimos o plano sem atrasos. (plural atrasos is very common)
In Portugal, Hoje cumprimos o plano sem atraso/sem atrasos is perfectly normal, especially in work, school, or project contexts.

So the structure itself is shared by both varieties; only word choices around it may change with context and region.

Is the register formal, neutral, or informal?

The sentence is neutral, suitable for:

workplace talk: Hoje cumprimos o plano sem atraso.
school / university contexts
reports and informal written updates

It’s not slangy, and it’s not very formal either. For something more formal (e.g. a written report) you might find:

Hoje, o plano foi cumprido sem atraso.
(passive voice, a bit more formal/impersonal)

How would I say the negative, and where does não go?

In Portuguese, não (not) normally goes before the verb.

Positive:

Hoje cumprimos o plano sem atraso.
→ Today we fulfilled the plan without delay.

Negative:

Hoje não cumprimos o plano; houve atraso.
→ Today we didn’t fulfill the plan; there was a delay.
Hoje não cumprimos o plano, tivemos atrasos.
→ Today we didn’t fulfill the plan; we had delays.

So the pattern is:

Hoje + não + cumprimos + o plano …