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A patrulha é útil, pois evita assaltos.

A patrulha é útil, pois evita assaltos.
The patrol is useful, because it prevents robberies.
From Lesson 484:Transition marker (ora)·Portuguese (Portugal)

Questions & Answers about A patrulha é útil, pois evita assaltos.

Why use pois here instead of porque?
Both mean "because", but pois is often used to add an explanation or justification to a statement you just made, similar to "since" or "for" in English. It is slightly more formal than porque and, when used to explain something like this, always comes after a comma.
Can I start the sentence with pois, just like I can with porque?
No. Unlike porque or como, the conjunction pois cannot start a sentence when it means "because" or "since". It must follow the main clause it is explaining.
I learned that evitar means "to avoid". Why is it translated as "prevents" here?
Evitar covers the meanings of both "to avoid" (keeping yourself away from something) and "to prevent" (stopping something from happening). Here, the patrol is stopping robberies from occurring, so "prevents" is the most natural English translation.
Why isn't there a definite article before assaltos (like os assaltos)?
We omit the article when talking about an undetermined quantity or a general category. Adding os (evita os assaltos) would imply the patrol prevents specific, already-mentioned robberies, rather than robberies in general.

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