A Maria usou o cupão no fim da liquidação e ainda poupou cinco euros.

In Portuguese, especially in European Portuguese, it is very common to use the definite article before a person’s first name.

So A Maria means Maria, not the Maria in the English sense.

• A Maria chegou. = Maria arrived.
• O João telefonou. = João called.

This is normal and natural in Portugal. In some situations, the article can be omitted, but with everyday speech it is very common.

Usou is the pretérito perfeito (simple past) of usar = to use.

Here it describes a completed action in the past:

• usar = to use
• ela usou = she used

So A Maria usou o cupão means that Maria used the coupon in a finished, completed event.

Portuguese usually uses an article where English often does not.

So:

• usou o cupão = used the coupon

The article o is the masculine singular definite article, because cupão is a masculine noun:

• o cupão
• um cupão

If you remove the article, the sentence may sound less natural in this context.

Cupão means coupon or voucher, depending on context.

In European Portuguese, cupão is the normal form. It often refers to a discount coupon used in a shop or promotion.

Examples:

• Tenho um cupão de desconto. = I have a discount coupon.
• Usei o cupão na compra. = I used the coupon on the purchase.

No is a contraction of:

• em
  • o = no

So:

• no fim = at the end / in the end

This kind of contraction is very common in Portuguese:

• em + a = na
• em + os = nos
• em + as = nas

So no fim da liquidação literally means in the end of the clearance sale, but in natural English: at the end of the sale.

Da is a contraction of:

• de
  • a = da

Here, fim da liquidação means the end of the clearance sale.

Breakdown:

• fim = end
• de a liquidação → da liquidação = of the clearance sale

This is another very common contraction in Portuguese:

• de + o = do
• de + a = da
• de + os = dos
• de + as = das

In this sentence, liquidação means a clearance sale or sale to get rid of stock.

In Portugal, liquidação often refers to a shop selling off items, usually at reduced prices, especially toward the end of a sales period.

So no fim da liquidação suggests the sale was already nearing its end, possibly when prices were especially low.

Here ainda means something like:

• still
• even
• on top of that
• to top it off

In this sentence, it adds the idea that Maria not only used the coupon, but also saved five euros as an extra benefit.

So:

• e ainda poupou cinco euros = and she even saved five euros / and on top of that, she saved five euros

This use of ainda is very common.

Yes. Poupou is the past tense of poupar, which means to save.

In money contexts, poupar often means to save money by spending less than expected.

So:

• poupou cinco euros = she saved five euros

This is a very natural way to talk about discounts, bargains, or reduced spending.

Because cinco euros is the direct object of poupou.

Portuguese says:

• poupar dinheiro
• poupar cinco euros

Just like English says:

• save money
• save five euros

So no extra preposition is needed.

Yes, ainda can sometimes appear in different positions, but the chosen position is very natural.

In this sentence:

• A Maria usou o cupão no fim da liquidação e ainda poupou cinco euros.

the structure highlights the extra result: she used the coupon, and besides that, she saved five euros.

Other placements may be possible, but they can sound slightly different in emphasis. For example:

• A Maria ainda poupou cinco euros.
  This strongly emphasizes she even saved five euros.

In the original sentence, e ainda neatly links the two actions and adds the sense of and what’s more.

Not usually.

• no fim generally means at the end
• ao fim de often means after a period of time

So:

• no fim da liquidação = at the end of the sale
• ao fim de três dias = after three days

That is why no fim da liquidação is the correct choice here.

Portuguese often omits subject pronouns when the verb form already makes the subject clear.

So instead of saying:

• A Maria ... e ela ainda poupou cinco euros

it is more natural simply to say:

• A Maria ... e ainda poupou cinco euros

The verb form and the sentence structure already make it clear that the subject is still Maria.

Yes, grammatically you could say A Maria utilizou o cupão..., and it would still mean Maria used the coupon.

But usar is usually the more common and everyday verb for this idea. Utilizar can sound a bit more formal or more technical depending on context.

So for normal shopping language, usou o cupão sounds very natural.

Yes, it sounds very compatible with European Portuguese, especially because of vocabulary choices like cupão and the general style.

A learner of Portuguese from Portugal should definitely be comfortable with:

• the article before names: A Maria
• contractions like no and da
• shopping vocabulary like liquidação
• the use of ainda to mean even / on top of that

So this is a very useful everyday-style European Portuguese sentence.