Há muita sujeira no chão da cozinha, então vou pegar a esponja e o rodo.

Here há comes from the verb haver, and in this kind of sentence it means there is or there are.

So:

• Há muita sujeira = There is a lot of dirt/mess

It does not mean has in the English possession sense.

A few useful notes:

• há is very common in written Portuguese
• in everyday Brazilian speech, people often say tem instead:
  • Tem muita sujeira no chão da cozinha
• with haver in this meaning, the verb stays in the singular:
  • Há muita sujeira
  • Há muitas coisas no chão

Because sujeira is a feminine singular noun, so muito has to agree with it:

• muita sujeira = a lot of dirt/mess

Agreement pattern:

• muito
  • masculine singular noun
• muita
  • feminine singular noun
• muitos
  • masculine plural noun
• muitas
  • feminine plural noun

Examples:

• muito pó = a lot of dust
• muita água = a lot of water
• muitas manchas = many stains

Since sujeira is usually an uncountable noun here, Portuguese uses the singular: muita sujeira.

Sujeira means dirt, mess, or filth, depending on context.

In this sentence, it suggests the kitchen floor is dirty and needs cleaning. It is broader than just one specific kind of trash.

Compare:

• sujeira = dirt/mess/uncleanliness
• lixo = trash/garbage
• poeira = dust
• mancha = stain

So há muita sujeira no chão da cozinha sounds like the kitchen floor is quite dirty/messy, not necessarily that it is covered only in garbage.

Because two contractions are happening:

• em + o = no
• de + a = da

So:

• no chão = on the floor / in the floor area
• da cozinha = of the kitchen

Word-for-word:

• no chão da cozinha = on the floor of the kitchen

This is very common in Portuguese. Other examples:

• na mesa = em + a mesa
• do carro = de + o carro
• das crianças = de + as crianças

It can mean both, depending on context.

Common meanings of chão:

• floor inside a building
• ground outside

Examples:

• O chão da cozinha = the kitchen floor
• O chão do quintal = the ground in the yard

So in this sentence, because of da cozinha, chão clearly means floor.

Here então means so, therefore, or in that case.

It connects the two ideas:

• There is a lot of dirt on the kitchen floor,
• so I’m going to get the sponge and the squeegee.

In conversation, então is very common and flexible. It can also mean things like:

• so
• then
• well
• in that case

But in this sentence, so is the best match.

Vou pegar is the very common near future structure:

• ir + infinitive

So:

• vou pegar = I’m going to get

This is the most natural way to talk about a future action in everyday Brazilian Portuguese.

Compare:

• Vou pegar a esponja. = I’m going to get the sponge.
• Pegarei a esponja. = I will get the sponge.

Both are correct, but pegarei sounds more formal, literary, or less conversational. In normal speech, Brazilians usually prefer vou pegar.

Here pegar means to get, to grab, or to pick up.

So:

• vou pegar a esponja e o rodo = I’m going to get/grab the sponge and the squeegee

Pegar is a very common verb in Portuguese and has many meanings depending on context, such as:

• take
• catch
• grab
• pick up
• get

In this sentence, it simply means going to fetch the cleaning tools.

Portuguese uses definite articles much more often than English.

So a esponja e o rodo sounds natural even when English would often drop the.

Here the articles suggest familiar, expected items:

• a esponja = the sponge
• o rodo = the squeegee

It sounds like the speaker means the sponge and squeegee they normally use for cleaning.

Portuguese often keeps the article where English would not:

• Vou para a escola. = I’m going to school.
• Ela está no carro. = She is in the car.
• Lavei as mãos. = I washed my hands.

In Brazilian Portuguese, rodo usually refers to a floor squeegee—a tool with a long handle and a rubber blade, used to push water and dirt across the floor.

It is very common in Brazil for cleaning hard floors.

So rodo is usually not the same as a mop:

• rodo = squeegee
• mop = often esfregão or another regional term

That is why the sentence mentions a esponja e o rodo: one tool helps scrub, and the other helps pull water and dirt off the floor.

Because grammatical gender in Portuguese is a property of the noun itself.

So:

• a esponja = feminine
• o rodo = masculine

That is why the articles are different:

• a for feminine singular
• o for masculine singular

This gender does not necessarily have anything to do with biological sex. It is just how the nouns are classified in Portuguese.

A learner usually has to memorize the noun together with its article:

• a esponja
• o rodo
• a cozinha
• o chão

Both are natural, but they focus on slightly different things.

• Há muita sujeira no chão da cozinha = There is a lot of dirt/mess on the kitchen floor.
• O chão da cozinha está muito sujo = The kitchen floor is very dirty.

The first emphasizes the presence of dirt/mess. The second emphasizes the condition of the floor.

In real life, Brazilians could use either one depending on what they want to highlight.