Pracuje a přitom studuje.

and

Breakdown of Pracuje a přitom studuje.

• pracovat: to work
• studovat: to study
• přitom: at the same time

Questions & Answers about Pracuje a přitom studuje.

Why is there no word for he, she, or it in this sentence?

Czech often leaves out the subject pronoun when it is clear from the verb form.

• Pracuje = (he/she/it) works / is working
• Studuje = (he/she/it) studies / is studying

The ending -uje tells you it is 3rd person singular, so the subject does not need to be stated. In English, you must usually say he works or she studies, but in Czech that is often unnecessary.

If you want to emphasize the subject, you can add it:

• On pracuje a přitom studuje. = He works and at the same time studies.
• Ona pracuje a přitom studuje. = She works and at the same time studies.

What does přitom mean here?

In this sentence, přitom means something like:

• at the same time
• meanwhile
• while also
• and yet or at the same time depending on context

So Pracuje a přitom studuje means that the person is doing both things at once: working and studying.

A very natural English translation is:

• He/She works and also studies.
• He/She is working and studying at the same time.

Here, přitom connects the two actions and highlights that they happen together.

Why is there both a and přitom? Isn’t one connector enough?