Breakdown of Im Hauptberuf arbeite ich im Büro, und als Nebenbeschäftigung gebe ich Nachhilfe.
Questions & Answers about Im Hauptberuf arbeite ich im Büro, und als Nebenbeschäftigung gebe ich Nachhilfe.
“Im Hauptberuf” literally means “in (the) main job / main profession.”
- im = contraction of in dem (in + the, dative masculine/neuter).
- Hauptberuf is masculine (der Hauptberuf), and after in (with a static location/role), German uses the dative case, so in dem Hauptberuf → im Hauptberuf.
Natural English usually translates it as “as my main job” or “in my main job,” even though German doesn’t say mein here.
German often omits the possessive pronoun (mein, dein, etc.) when it’s obvious whose role, job, body part, etc. is meant.
So instead of:
- ❌ In meinem Hauptberuf arbeite ich im Büro.
it’s more natural to say:
- ✅ Im Hauptberuf arbeite ich im Büro.
The “my” is understood from context: it can only be your own main job.
German allows fairly flexible word order as long as the finite verb is in second position in a main clause.
Both are correct:
- Im Hauptberuf arbeite ich im Büro.
→ Emphasis on in my main job (contrast with something else, like a side job). - Ich arbeite im Büro im Hauptberuf.
→ More neutral; starts like English.
By putting “Im Hauptberuf” first, the speaker is contrasting main job vs. side job, which fits nicely with the second part of the sentence.
Yes.
In German, “second” means second element, not second word:
- Im Hauptberuf → first element (a full phrase)
- arbeite → second element (the finite verb)
- ich im Büro → everything else follows
So the word order rule (verb in second position) is not violated.
Because there are two independent main clauses, each with its own conjugated verb:
- (Im Hauptberuf) arbeite ich im Büro
- (als Nebenbeschäftigung) gebe ich Nachhilfe
In German, when “und” connects two full clauses, the comma is obligatory:
- …, und …
If it just connects words or phrases (no second verb), then there is no comma:
- Ich arbeite im Büro und zu Hause. (one clause, one verb)
Yes.
Within the second clause, the structure is:
- als Nebenbeschäftigung → first element
- gebe → second element (finite verb)
- ich Nachhilfe → rest of the clause
The “und” only connects the clauses; it doesn’t count as the first element of the second clause. So the verb position rule (verb second in main clauses) still holds.
Nebenbeschäftigung is in the nominative case after als here.
- als is being used to mean “as” in the sense of “in the role/status of”.
In this use, als + noun works like a predicative complement, which is normally in nominative:
- Ich arbeite als Lehrer. (I work as a teacher.)
- Er ist Arzt. (He is a doctor.)
So:
- als Nebenbeschäftigung → “as a side occupation / side activity”, nominative.
Both refer to something you do in addition to your main job, but there’s a nuance:
- Nebenbeschäftigung
- Literally “side occupation/activity”
- Slightly more formal or neutral, can include things that are not strictly “jobs” (e.g. paid tutoring, small freelance tasks).
- Nebenjob
- Literally “side job”
- More colloquial, clearly means a paid job on the side.
In this sentence, Nebenbeschäftigung fits well because tutoring can be somewhat informal and flexible. You could also say Nebenjob here in everyday speech:
- …und als Nebenjob gebe ich Nachhilfe.
Nachhilfe is private tutoring / extra help with school subjects, usually for pupils or students who need support outside regular class.
Typical contexts:
- Nachhilfe in Mathe geben – to tutor someone in maths
- Nachhilfe nehmen – to take extra lessons/to get tutoring
It often implies remedial help or support to improve grades, not just any teaching.
Many abstract or mass-like nouns in German often appear without an article when talking about them in general:
- Ich gebe Nachhilfe. – I give (some) tutoring.
- Ich trinke Kaffee. – I drink coffee.
- Ich mache Sport. – I do sports.
You can use an article when specifying something more precise:
- Ich gebe eine Nachhilfestunde. – I give a tutoring session.
- Ich gebe die Nachhilfe in Mathe. – I give the (specific) tutoring in maths.
But in the general sense of “I work as a tutor,” no article is natural.
“im Büro arbeiten” primarily means “to work in an office (as one’s workplace)”.
- Often it implies office-type work (administration, paperwork, computer work), not manual labor.
- It usually also means the location: you go to an office building to work.
If you want to stress the type of work more abstractly, you might say:
- eine Bürotätigkeit haben – to have an office job
- Büroarbeit machen – to do office work
But “im Büro arbeiten” is the everyday phrase for “to work in an office.”
Because they are all nouns, and all nouns are capitalized in German:
- der Hauptberuf – main job/profession
- das Büro – office
- die Nebenbeschäftigung – side occupation
- die Nachhilfe – tutoring, extra help
This capitalization rule applies even when the noun isn’t at the beginning of the sentence.
- der Hauptberuf (masculine) – the main job/profession
- das Büro (neuter) – the office
- die Nebenbeschäftigung (feminine) – the side occupation
- die Nachhilfe (feminine) – the tutoring/extra help
In the sentence, some articles are hidden in contractions:
- im Büro = in dem Büro (dative neuter)
- Im Hauptberuf = in dem Hauptberuf (dative masculine)
Yes, that is a very natural alternative:
- hauptberuflich – as my main occupation, as my primary job
- nebenberuflich – as a secondary job, on the side
So:
- Hauptberuflich arbeite ich im Büro, und nebenberuflich gebe ich Nachhilfe.
means essentially the same as the original sentence, just using adverbs (hauptberuflich / nebenberuflich) instead of noun phrases (Im Hauptberuf / als Nebenbeschäftigung).