Learn Hardcore German: Zu Hause öffne ich alle Vorhänge, damit viel Tageslicht hereinkommt und meine Zufriedenheit steigt. - At home I open all the curtains so that lots of daylight comes in and my satisfaction rises.

German is very flexible with word order. In main clauses, the finite verb must be in second position, but almost any part of the sentence can be put in first position for emphasis or structure.

Ich öffne zu Hause alle Vorhänge… – neutral: “I” is the topic.
Zu Hause öffne ich alle Vorhänge… – emphasizes the location “At home”.

Both are correct. By putting Zu Hause first, the speaker highlights where this habit happens. The verb öffne still stays in second position, and ich moves after the verb.

What is the difference between zu Hause and nach Hause?

zu Hause = at home (location, where you are)
- Ich bin zu Hause. – I am at home.
- Zu Hause öffne ich alle Vorhänge. – At home I open all the curtains.
nach Hause = (to) home (direction, where you are going)
- Ich gehe nach Hause. – I am going home.
- Kommst du nach Hause? – Are you coming home?

So in your sentence, it’s about a routine at the place where you live, so zu Hause is correct.

Why is it alle Vorhänge and what case is that?

Vorhang (curtain) is masculine: der Vorhang.

Plural:

Singular: der Vorhang
Plural: die Vorhänge

In the sentence:

Ich = subject (nominative)
öffne = verb
alle Vorhänge = direct object → accusative plural

Forms:

Nominative plural: die Vorhänge
Accusative plural: die Vorhänge (same form)

With alle:

alle Vorhänge = all curtains (accusative plural)

We say alle Vorhänge öffnen because we are acting on the curtains.

Why is there a comma before damit?

damit introduces a subordinate clause (= a dependent clause that cannot stand alone). In German, all subordinate clauses are separated from the main clause by a comma.

Main clause: Zu Hause öffne ich alle Vorhänge,
Subordinate clause: damit viel Tageslicht hereinkommt und meine Zufriedenheit steigt.

Rule:
Whenever you have conjunctions like dass, weil, obwohl, wenn, damit, bevor, nachdem, etc., you put a comma before them and send the finite verb to the end of the clause.

What exactly does damit mean here, and why not um … zu?

damit means “so that / in order that” and introduces a subordinate clause with a finite verb.

damit viel Tageslicht hereinkommt
= so that a lot of daylight comes in

um … zu also expresses purpose but uses an infinitive construction:

…, um viel Tageslicht hereinzulassen. – …in order to let in a lot of daylight.

Differences:

Structure
- damit
  - full clause with a subject + verb at the end
    → …, damit viel Tageslicht hereinkommt.
- um … zu
  - infinitive
    → …, um viel Tageslicht hereinzulassen.
Subject
- um … zu is normally used when the subject is the same in both clauses.
- damit works for both same-subject and different-subject situations.

Here, since the same person opens the curtains and benefits from the light, you could rephrase with um … zu, but damit is completely natural and focuses slightly more on the resulting state (“so that this happens”).

Why is the verb at the end in damit viel Tageslicht hereinkommt?

Because damit introduces a subordinate clause, and in German subordinate clauses have the finite verb in final position.

Word order pattern:

Main clause (verb second):
- Zu Hause (1st position) öffne (2nd position) ich alle Vorhänge (rest).
Subordinate clause (verb final):
- damit viel Tageslicht hereinkommt
- Subject: viel Tageslicht
- Verb: hereinkommt → goes to the end.

So the structure is:

[Main clause], [subordinate clause with verb at the end].

What is hereinkommt? Why is it written as one word here?

hereinkommt is the 3rd person singular present of the separable verb hereinkommen (to come in / to enter).

Basic infinitive: hereinkommen
- her(ein) = directional particle (“in here”)
- kommen = to come

In main clauses, separable verbs split:

Das Tageslicht kommt herein. – The daylight comes in.

In subordinate clauses, they stay together at the end:

…, weil viel Tageslicht hereinkommt.

So in your sentence:

damit viel Tageslicht hereinkommt
= so that a lot of daylight comes in
(subordinate clause → verb at the end → write as one word).

Could you also say reinkommt instead of hereinkommt?

Yes, reinkommen is very common in everyday spoken German.

hereinkommen sounds a bit more standard / careful / written.
reinkommen sounds more colloquial.

So:

…, damit viel Tageslicht hereinkommt. – neutral, slightly more formal.
…, damit viel Tageslicht reinkommt. – very common in spoken language.

Both are grammatical; the difference is mostly register and style.

Why is there no article before viel Tageslicht?

Tageslicht (daylight) is used here as an uncountable / mass noun. In German, mass nouns often appear without an article when we talk about them in a general, non-specific way.

Patterns:

viel Wasser – a lot of water
viel Geld – a lot of money
viel Licht – a lot of light
viel Tageslicht – a lot of daylight

If you add an article, the meaning changes:

das Tageslicht – (the) daylight in a specific sense, e.g. “this daylight” or daylight as a defined concept.
viel Tageslicht – generally a lot of daylight, not a specific amount.

So viel Tageslicht is natural and idiomatic here.

Why is it meine Zufriedenheit and not mein Zufriedenheit?

Because Zufriedenheit (contentment, satisfaction) is feminine in German:

die Zufriedenheit – the satisfaction

Therefore, the possessive must use the feminine form in the nominative singular:

meine Zufriedenheit (not mein Zufriedenheit)

Breakdown in the clause:

meine Zufriedenheit = subject (nominative feminine singular)
steigt = verb (3rd person singular)

Literally: my satisfaction rises / increases.

Why does meine Zufriedenheit steigt have the verb at the end of the whole sentence?

Within its own clause, meine Zufriedenheit steigt is actually in normal main-clause order:

Subject: meine Zufriedenheit
Verb: steigt

So inside that part, the verb is second. The reason it appears near the end of the whole sentence is that this is part of the bigger subordinate structure:

…, damit [viel Tageslicht hereinkommt] und [meine Zufriedenheit steigt].

After damit, you have two coordinated subordinate clauses joined by und:

viel Tageslicht hereinkommt
meine Zufriedenheit steigt

Both are subordinated under damit, so they both appear after it, but each one internally follows normal verb rules:

1st: subordinate word order (verb final) because of the separable verb hereinkommt.
2nd: looks like a simple main-clause order but is logically under damit; the verb is still in second position relative to its subject.

Why steigt and not something like erhöht sich?

Both steigen and sich erhöhen can mean “to increase”, but steigen is more neutral and common, especially with abstract nouns:

die Temperatur steigt – the temperature rises
die Preise steigen – prices are going up
meine Zufriedenheit steigt – my satisfaction increases

(sich) erhöhen is also correct but can sound slightly more formal / technical and is more common in contexts like statistics, fees, rates, etc.

So:

… und meine Zufriedenheit steigt. – very natural and idiomatic.
… und meine Zufriedenheit erhöht sich. – possible, but sounds less idiomatic in everyday speech.