There are words in Spanish which have different meanings when written with or without a written accent. Let's look at más vs mas.
Spanish más with a written accent
The word más with a written accent means more. You have probably come across this word many times. Let's see some sentences with más:
Pedro siempre ha sido más generoso que su hermano.Pedro has always been more generous than his brother.
Notice how in the examples above más is used in comparative sentences and as an adjective or pronoun. Remember to always write an accent in these cases.
Spanish mas with no written accent
In Spanish the word mas with no written accent means but. It is a formal version of pero (but). Let's see some sentences with mas:
Recibimos una invitación para la ceremonia mas no asistimos.We received an invitation to the ceremony but we didn't attend.
See how in all the examples above, mas has no written accent and can be translated as but/however/nevertheless - it is a conjunction joining two parts of a sentence that are in opposition. The conjunction mas is formal and is not widely used, you might see it in writing but it would be unusual to hear it used in speech. It is a lot more common to use the pero or the slightly more formal sin embargo or no obstante.
See also this more basic lesson on más: Using más/menos for more/less/fewer in Spanish (as adjectives, pronouns and adverbs).
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