Ayer puse una queja porque el portero cerró la puerta y me dejó fuera.

Because poner is an irregular preterite verb.

Its preterite forms are:

• yo puse
• tú pusiste
• él/ella/usted puso
• nosotros pusimos
• vosotros pusisteis
• ellos/ellas/ustedes pusieron

So Ayer puse una queja means Yesterday I made/filed a complaint.

A useful thing to notice: several common verbs have this same kind of irregular preterite pattern, for example:

• tener → tuve
• estar → estuve
• poder → pude
• poner → puse

So puse is just the correct yo form of poner in the preterite.

Because the sentence talks about completed actions at a specific time in the past.

The word ayer (yesterday) strongly suggests a finished past time period, so Spanish normally uses the pretérito indefinido here:

• Ayer puse una queja
• el portero cerró la puerta
• me dejó fuera

Each action is presented as a finished event:

1. I filed the complaint.
2. The doorman shut the door.
3. He left me outside.

If the sentence were describing background, repeated habits, or an ongoing situation, Spanish might use the imperfect instead. But here it is a chain of completed events, so the preterite is the natural choice.

Yes, it is understandable and natural enough, but there are a few similar expressions you may also hear.

Common options include:

• poner una queja = to make/file a complaint
• presentar una queja = to submit/file a complaint
• poner una reclamación = to make a formal complaint
• poner una denuncia = to file a report/complaint, often more legal or police-related depending on context

In Spain, poner una queja is a very normal everyday expression.
So Ayer puse una queja is perfectly fine.

In this sentence, el portero most likely means the doorman / building porter / concierge.

In Spain, portero often refers to the person who looks after the entrance of a building, especially an apartment building.

Be careful, because portero can also mean:

• goalkeeper in football
• sometimes a kind of entry-phone / intercom in everyday speech in Spain

But in el portero cerró la puerta, the most natural meaning is the doorman/building porter.

Because porque (one word, no accent) means because.

Here it introduces the reason:

• puse una queja porque el portero cerró la puerta...
• I filed a complaint because the doorman shut the door...

Compare:

• porque = because
• por qué = why
• el porqué = the reason
• por que = less common combination in other structures

So in this sentence, porque is correct because it gives the cause.

The accent mark shows that this is the third person singular preterite form: he/she/it/you-form closed.

• cierro = I close / I am closing
• cerró = he/she closed

The accent matters because without it, cerro is a different word or would be read differently.

The same thing happens with dejó:

• dejo = I leave
• dejó = he/she left

So the accents help distinguish present forms from preterite forms.

Because object pronouns like me, te, lo, la, nos normally go before a conjugated verb in Spanish.

So:

• me dejó fuera = he left me outside

Not:

• dejó fuera me ❌

This is one of the basic pronoun placement rules in Spanish:

• Before a normal conjugated verb: me dejó
• Attached to an infinitive: dejarme
• Attached to a gerund: dejándome
• Attached to an affirmative command: déjame

In this sentence, the verb is conjugated (dejó), so me goes before it.

Because me is not the subject; it is the direct or indirect object of dejó.

There are really two different people involved:

• I = the person who filed the complaint (puse)
• me = the person affected by dejó fuera

So the structure is:

• el portero = subject of cerró and dejó
• me = the person he left outside

In other words:

• I filed a complaint
• because the doorman closed the door and left me outside

Here fuera means outside.

So:

• me dejó fuera = he left me outside / he locked me out

In this sentence, fuera is functioning as an adverb of place, not as a verb form.

Learners sometimes notice that fuera can also be:

• an adverb meaning outside
• an imperfect subjunctive form of ser or ir

But here it is clearly the adverb outside, because it describes where the speaker was left.

Sometimes yes, but fuera is the more natural choice in many contexts in Spain.

Both can mean outside, but usage varies by region. In much of Spain:

• fuera is very common
• afuera is understood, but often sounds less typical than in many Latin American varieties

So in a Spain-focused sentence, me dejó fuera sounds very natural.

Also, dejar fuera is a common expression, almost like leave out / leave outside / lock out, so fuera fits very well here.

Because Spanish usually uses the definite article when referring to a specific, known thing.

Here la puerta means the door, probably the building door or entrance already understood from the situation.

Spanish often uses articles where English sometimes can sound more flexible. So:

• cerró la puerta = he closed the door

This is the normal way to say it.

Not exactly.

• me cerró la puerta = he shut the door on me
• me dejó fuera = he left me outside / he locked me out

They are related, but not identical.

In the full sentence, Spanish uses both ideas:

• cerró la puerta = the action he did
• me dejó fuera = the result for me

So the sentence gives both the event and its consequence.

Because me already tells you who was affected.

Spanish often uses just the object pronoun when that is clear:

• me dejó fuera = he left me outside

You could say me dejó fuera a mí, but that would sound emphatic or contrastive, as if you were stressing me in particular.

For example:

• Dejó fuera a todos = He left everyone outside
• me dejó fuera a mí = he left me outside

In the original sentence, there is no need for that extra emphasis, so me dejó fuera is the normal version.