（です・だ）が

About

が can be used as a conjunction, similar to "but" in English.

On its own, が sounds quite stiff, and so けど is usually preferred in everyday conversation. が is usually used in formal or written contexts.

が can be combined with です to form the ～ですが pattern. ですが is much more common in everyday speech, and can be used in polite scenarios to make inquiries and soften requests.

が can also be combined with だ to form the だが pattern. This sounds very stiff and is almost exclusively used in formal contexts.

Summary

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  が means "but"

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  が can be used on its own or combined with です/だ

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  が and だが sound quite stiff and formal