A vendedora disse que o defeito não está na bateria, mas na tela.

Because vendedora is a feminine noun, so it takes the feminine article a.

• a vendedora = the female salesperson / saleswoman
• o vendedor = the male salesperson / salesman

In Portuguese, articles usually agree in gender and number with the noun.

Disse is the past form of the verb dizer, which means to say or to tell.

• dizer = to say
• ela disse = she said

This is the preterite form, used for a completed action in the past.

Here que means that.

So disse que... = said that...

Portuguese uses que very often in this structure, even when English might sometimes omit that:

• Ela disse que o defeito não está na bateria.
• She said (that) the defect isn’t in the battery.

In Portuguese, keeping que is very normal and natural.

Yes, defeito is a masculine noun, so it uses o in the singular:

• o defeito = the defect / the fault / the problem
• um defeito = a defect

Its grammatical gender is masculine, even though the thing itself does not have biological gender.

Because estar is used here to talk about the location of the problem, not its permanent identity.

• não está na bateria = it is not in the battery
• está na tela = it is in the screen

Using ser (é) would sound wrong here, because the idea is not the defect is the battery, but rather the defect is located in the battery/screen.

So:

• O defeito está na tela. = The problem is in the screen.
• Not: O defeito é na tela.

Because na is a contraction of em + a.

• em = in / on / at
• a bateria = the battery
• em + a bateria = na bateria

And:

• a tela = the screen
• em + a tela = na tela

This kind of contraction is very common in Portuguese:

• em + o = no
• em + a = na
• em + os = nos
• em + as = nas

Literally, yes, but in natural English we often translate it more flexibly as in the battery, with the battery, or the battery isn’t the problem, depending on context.

Portuguese often uses estar em to indicate where a fault lies:

• O problema está na tela.
• The problem is in the screen.

So the Portuguese is perfectly natural even if English might word it a little differently.

Because Portuguese often leaves out repeated words when they are understood from context.

Full version:

• A vendedora disse que o defeito não está na bateria, mas está na tela.

Natural shorter version:

• A vendedora disse que o defeito não está na bateria, mas na tela.

Both are correct, but the shorter version sounds smoother and more natural.

Because mas means but, while mais means more.

• mas = but
• mais = more

So here:

• não está na bateria, mas na tela = not in the battery, but in the screen

This is a very common spelling confusion for learners because the words sound somewhat similar.

In Portuguese, não usually goes directly before the verb it negates.

• não está = is not
• não é = is not
• não funciona = does not work

So:

• o defeito não está na bateria = the defect is not in the battery

That placement is the normal one.

Because Portuguese can keep the second verb in the present when the statement is still considered true now.

• A vendedora disse que o defeito não está na bateria.
• The salesperson said that the defect is not in the battery.

This suggests the speaker still treats that information as valid.

You could also sometimes hear a past form in other contexts, but the present is very natural when reporting something that is still true.

Yes. Defeito can be translated in different ways depending on context:

• defect
• fault
• problem
• issue

In a sentence about electronics or devices, defeito often means a technical fault or malfunction.

So even if the meaning shown to the learner is defect, it is useful to know the word is a bit flexible.

The structure is:

A vendedora + disse + que + clause

Broken down:

• A vendedora = subject
• disse = main verb
• que = connector meaning that
• o defeito não está na bateria, mas na tela = reported statement

So the pattern is very common in Portuguese:

• Ele disse que... = He said that...
• Ela falou que... = She said that...
• O técnico explicou que... = The technician explained that...

Sometimes yes, but there is a slight difference.

• disse from dizer is more directly said
• falou from falar is more like spoke or sometimes said

In everyday Brazilian Portuguese, people often use both in reported speech:

• Ela disse que...
• Ela falou que...

But disse que is especially straightforward and standard here.

In most Brazilian accents, disse sounds roughly like JEE-see or DJEE-see, depending on the region and speaker.

A few notes:

• the di often sounds like jee/djee in many parts of Brazil
• the ss gives an s sound, not a z sound
• the final e is usually a light vowel, often like ee

So disse is not pronounced like English diss.

Usually yes in this kind of context. Tela commonly means:

• screen
• display

For phones, tablets, laptops, TVs, and similar devices, tela is the normal everyday word for the screen.