Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): O computador já está reparado.

O computador já está reparado.
→ Literally: “The computer is already repaired.”
→ Natural English: “The computer has already been repaired.”

English tends to highlight the completed action with the present perfect passive (has been repaired).
Portuguese is highlighting the state now: the computer is in a repaired condition at this moment.

You would not normally say O computador já tem sido reparado here; that suggests something like “has been repaired repeatedly / from time to time,” which is a different idea.

What exactly does já mean here, and is it necessary?

Here já means “already”.

O computador está reparado.
→ The computer is repaired / fixed. (neutral statement of fact)
O computador já está reparado.
→ The computer is already repaired / fixed now.
(adds the idea: “earlier than expected / earlier than some reference time”)

So:

Meaning: “already; by now; at this point (and not later).”
Is it necessary?
Grammatically, no. You can drop it:
O computador está reparado. is perfectly correct.
But you lose the nuance of “already / by now.”

Where does já normally go in this sentence? Could I move it somewhere else?

The most natural position in European Portuguese here is:

O computador já está reparado. (subject + já + verb)

Other possibilities:

O computador está já reparado.
→ Possible, but sounds more formal or emphatic, not everyday speech.
O computador está reparado já.
→ Also possible, but sounds unusual / marked; it can put extra emphasis on já.

For a learner, the safe pattern is:

Subject + já + main verb
O computador já está reparado.
Ele já chegou. – He’s already arrived.
Eles já terminaram. – They’ve already finished.

Why do we use está and not é? What’s the difference between ser and estar here?

With past participles, the choice ser vs estar is very important:

ser + past participle → the action, a passive event
estar + past participle → the resulting state

O computador está reparado.
→ The computer is in a repaired state now (result of some past repair).
O computador é reparado aqui.
→ The computer is repaired here (i.e. this place repairs it – habitual passive).

So in your sentence you’re not describing who repairs it or how; you’re just saying its current condition, so you use estar:

O computador já está reparado.
= It is (now) in the repaired/fixed state.

What’s the difference between O computador já está reparado and O computador já foi reparado?

Both are correct, but they focus on slightly different things:

O computador já está reparado.
- Focus: the current state of the computer.
- Typical answer to: Está pronto? (Is it ready yet?)
- Roughly: “The computer is already (now) fixed.”
O computador já foi reparado.
- Focus: the completed action of repairing.
- Typical answer to: Já o repararam? (Have they repaired it yet?)
- Roughly: “The computer has already been repaired.”

In many contexts both would be understood as “It’s already fixed,” but:

está reparado → “Look at it now; it’s in a repaired condition.”
foi reparado → “At some point (relevant to now), someone repaired it.”

Why is it reparado and not reparada, reparados, or reparadas?

In estar + past participle, the participle behaves like an adjective and must agree with the noun’s gender and number.

computador → masculine singular
→ reparado

Change the noun, and the ending changes:

A impressora já está reparada.
The printer (feminine singular) is already repaired.
Os computadores já estão reparados.
The computers (masculine plural) are already repaired.
As impressoras já estão reparadas.
The printers (feminine plural) are already repaired.

So the participle follows the noun:
-o → -ado, -a → -ada, -os → -ados, -as → -adas (for this verb).

Is reparado an adjective here or a verb form?

Formally, reparado is the past participle of the verb reparar (“to repair, to fix”).

In estar + reparado, it’s functioning like an adjective that describes a state:

O computador está reparado.
→ literally, “The computer is repaired.”

The same happens with many verbs:

fechar → fechado
A porta está fechada. – The door is closed.
partir → partido
O copo está partido. – The glass is broken.

So you can think of it both ways:

Morphologically: past participle of reparar
Syntactically/semantically here: an adjective describing the computer’s state

Are there other common ways to say this in European Portuguese, like using arranjado or consertado?

Yes. In Portugal you’ll often hear:

O computador já está arranjado.
O computador já foi arranjado.

arranjar is very common in everyday European Portuguese for “to fix” in a practical sense.

reparar is also very normal and can sound a bit more technical / formal, especially in written language (e.g. service reports).

consertar is much more common in Brazilian Portuguese. People in Portugal will understand it, but for European Portuguese it’s more natural to use:

reparar
arranjar

Why do we say O computador and not just Computador? Can the article be dropped?

Portuguese almost always uses an article with a specific, countable noun like computador.

O computador já está reparado.
→ The (that specific) computer is already repaired.

If you drop the article:

Computador já está reparado.

this sounds like a note, label, or headline, not like normal full-sentence speech. You might see this on a tag stuck to a device, but you would not normally say it in conversation.

So in regular sentences talking about a specific thing, use the definite article:

O computador, A impressora, Os telemóveis, As máquinas, etc.

How would I say “The computer is being repaired” instead? Is it similar to this sentence?

No, you can’t just tweak está reparado to mean “is being repaired.” You need a different structure:

O computador está a ser reparado.
→ The computer is being repaired. (European Portuguese)

This is:

estar + a + ser + past participle

Compare:

O computador está a ser reparado.
→ the repair is in progress.
O computador está reparado.
→ the repair is finished; the computer is now in a repaired state.

So don’t use está reparado if you want to say the work is still ongoing.

How is O computador já está reparado pronounced in European Portuguese?

Very roughly (European accent):

O → like “oo”
computador → “kong-poo-tah-DOR”
já → “zhah” (like French j in je)
está → “esh-TAH”
reparado → “heh-pah-RAH-doo” (final -o sounds like “oo”)

Put together:

O computador já está reparado.
oo kong-poo-tah-DOR zhah esh-TAH heh-pah-RAH-doo

Main stress falls on:

dor in computador
tá in está
ra in reparado

Can I use this “estar + past participle (+ já)” pattern with other verbs and nouns?

Yes, this is a very productive and useful pattern in Portuguese to talk about finished results:

A porta já está fechada.
The door is already closed.
O relatório já está escrito.
The report is already written.
As malas já estão feitas.
The suitcases are already packed. (fazer → feitas)
Os bilhetes já estão comprados.
The tickets are already bought.
A mesa já está posta.
The table is already set. (pôr → posta)

So you can reuse the structure:

[Noun] + já está / já estão + [past participle agreeing with the noun]

Does já always mean “already,” or can it mean something else in other contexts?

In your sentence it clearly means “already”, but já has a few other common uses in Portuguese, depending on context:

“Already” / “by now” (as in your example)
- Já acabou. – It’s already finished.
“Yet” in questions
- Já comeste? – Have you eaten yet?
“Anymore” in negatives (European PT often uses já where English uses “anymore”)
- Já não moro lá. – I don’t live there anymore.
“Now / right now” with an imperative
- Vem já cá! – Come here right now!

But in O computador já está reparado, the reading is clearly “already / by now.”