Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): As cortinas da sala deixam entrar pouca luz durante o dia. - The living‑room curtains let in little light during the day.

The noun cortinas (curtains) is:
- feminine
- plural
The article must agree with the noun in gender and number, so:
- a cortina = the curtain (feminine singular)
- as cortinas = the curtains (feminine plural)

You cannot say os cortinas here, because os is masculine plural and would clash with the feminine noun cortinas.

Why is it da sala and not na sala? What does da mean?

Da is a contraction of de + a = da, meaning “of the” (feminine singular).

da sala literally = “of the room” / “of the living room”
It shows possession or association: the curtains *of the living room*.

Compare:

As cortinas da sala
= the curtains of the living room (they belong to that room)
As cortinas na sala
= the curtains in the living room (they are located there, but not necessarily “belonging” to it as a set)

In this sentence, da sala is the natural way to say the living‑room curtains in European Portuguese.

What does deixam entrar literally mean? Why are there two verbs?

Deixam entrar is deixar + entrar:

deixar = to let, to allow
entrar = to enter, to come in
deixam = 3rd person plural present of deixar (they let)

So deixam entrar literally means “(they) let enter” → “(they) let in”.

Structure:

deixar + [object] + infinitive
→ deixar a luz entrar = to let the light come in

In the sentence:

As cortinas da sala deixam entrar pouca luz…
= The living‑room curtains *let in little light…*

Could I say As cortinas da sala entram pouca luz instead?

No, that would be wrong in Portuguese.

Entrar is intransitive here (it doesn’t take a direct object in this sense).
You can say:
- Entra pouca luz pela janela. = Little light comes in through the window.
But you can’t make luz the direct object of entrar the way you might in English.

To express “let in light”, you need a verb like deixar or deixar passar:

As cortinas da sala deixam entrar pouca luz.
As cortinas da sala deixam passar pouca luz.

Why is the order deixam entrar pouca luz and not deixam pouca luz entrar?

Both are grammatically possible, but the natural, neutral order here is:

deixam entrar pouca luz

This follows a common pattern:

deixar + infinitive + object
→ deixam entrar (o quê?) pouca luz

Deixam pouca luz entrar is not wrong, but it sounds less natural and more marked; it may sound like you are putting extra emphasis on pouca luz. In everyday speech, people would normally say deixam entrar pouca luz.

Why is it pouca luz and not pouco luz? How does pouco/pouca work?

Pouca agrees with luz, which is feminine singular.

Forms of pouco (“little / few”):

pouco – masculine singular
pouca – feminine singular
poucos – masculine plural
poucas – feminine plural

Examples:

pouco tempo = little time (masc. sing.)
pouca luz = little light (fem. sing.)
poucos livros = few books (masc. pl.)
poucas pessoas = few people (fem. pl.)

So you must say pouca luz, not pouco luz.

What is the difference between pouca luz and um pouco de luz?

Both relate to quantity, but they feel different:

pouca luz
= little light, not much light → almost a negative idea
(there is light, but clearly insufficient)
um pouco de luz
= a bit of light, some light → more neutral / positive
(there is at least a small amount)

Compare:

As cortinas deixam entrar pouca luz.
The curtains let in very little light (they make the room rather dark).
As cortinas deixam entrar um pouco de luz.
The curtains let in some light (not a lot, but at least a bit).

The original sentence emphasizes that the room is quite dark in the daytime.

Why is the verb deixam in the present tense? Could I say estão a deixar entrar instead?

Deixam is the present simple: it describes a general, habitual fact.

As cortinas da sala deixam entrar pouca luz durante o dia.
= In general, these curtains let in little light during the day.

You could say:

As cortinas da sala estão a deixar entrar pouca luz.

But that focuses on right now, an ongoing situation (like “are currently letting in little light”), similar to the English present continuous.

So:

deixam → general property / habit
estão a deixar → action happening at this moment (European Portuguese progressive form)

What exactly does durante o dia mean? Can I just say de dia?

Durante o dia literally means “during the day” – it refers to the whole daytime period in general.

durante o dia = throughout the daytime

You can say de dia, which also means “by day / in the daytime”:

As cortinas deixam entrar pouca luz de dia.

Differences in feel:

durante o dia – slightly more formal / neutral, suggests the period as a whole.
de dia – more colloquial and short, very common in speech.

Both are fine in this sentence; the meaning is practically the same.

Could I use passar instead of entrar, as in deixam passar pouca luz? Is there a difference?

Yes, that is perfectly natural:

As cortinas da sala deixam passar pouca luz durante o dia.

Deixar entrar vs deixar passar:

deixar entrar – literally “let enter”, focus on light coming in.
deixar passar – “let pass (through)”, focus on light getting through the fabric.

In practice, both describe the same idea here. Passar is very common when talking about light, air, or sound going through something:

Estas cortinas não deixam passar muita luz.

Does sala always mean “living room” in European Portuguese?

Not always, but very often.

When people in Portugal say a sala with no modifier, it usually means the living room.
More explicit forms exist, like:
- sala de estar – living room
- sala de jantar – dining room
- sala de aula – classroom
- sala de espera – waiting room

In your sentence, as cortinas da sala is naturally understood as the living‑room curtains.

How do you pronounce deixam and pouca in European Portuguese?

Approximate European Portuguese pronunciation:

deixam → /ˈdɐj.ʃɐ̃/
- dei-: like English “day”, but shorter and tenser.
- -x-: ʃ sound, like “sh” in she.
- -am: nasal vowel, similar to “uhng” but very short; you don’t clearly pronounce an m.
pouca → /ˈpo(w).kɐ/
- pou-: like English “po” in post, or “po” with a slight off‑glide (a very short w sound).
- -ca: kɐ – the final a is reduced, like a quick “uh”.

So roughly:

deixam ≈ “DAY-shun” (with a nasal final vowel)
pouca ≈ “POH-kuh” (short, unstressed final syllable)