Breakdown of Ela aluga o quarto a turistas.
ela
she
o quarto
the bedroom / the room
a
to / at (direction)
alugar
to rent
Questions & Answers about Ela aluga o quarto a turistas.
Does aluga mean "rents out" or "rents from"?
It can actually mean both! Just like the English word "rent", alugar is used whether you are the owner renting a space out, or the tenant renting it from the owner. Here, the phrase a turistas (to tourists) makes it clear she is the owner renting it out.
Why use quarto instead of sala for "room"?
In Portuguese, quarto specifically means a bedroom, whereas sala refers to a living room or a larger shared space. When talking about renting a room for someone to stay in, it is almost always a quarto.
Why is it just a turistas instead of aos turistas?
By leaving out the definite article, the sentence talks about tourists in a general sense ("to tourists"). If it said aos turistas, meaning "to the tourists", it would imply she rents the room to specific tourists you were already talking about.
Can aluga also mean "is renting" in this context?
Yes! The Portuguese present tense covers both "rents" (a habit) and "is renting" (happening right now). Usually, renting to tourists is a habitual business, so "rents" is the best translation, but "is renting" is grammatically correct too.