Learn Portuguese (Portugal): A televisão está estragada, mas temos o computador. - The television is broken, but we have the computer.

Mas is a coordinating conjunction that means "but". It connects two contrasting ideas. Just like in English, it is placed directly between the two clauses you are contrasting: the television is broken, but you still have the computer.

Is mas ("but") the same as mais ("more")?

No, but beginners often mix them up because they look very similar! Mas means "but" and has a short "a" sound. Mais means "more" and has a distinct "ai" vowel sound.

Why does the sentence use está for the broken television instead of é?

Está comes from the verb estar, which is used for temporary states or conditions. The television being broken (estragada) is its current physical condition, not a permanent, unchangeable characteristic (which would require the verb ser).

Why does estragada end in -a?

In Portuguese, adjectives must match the gender of the noun they describe. Nouns ending in -são or -ção (like televisão) are almost always feminine. Because of this, the base adjective estragado changes to its feminine form, estragada.