השחקן יושב על הספסל ושותה מים.

ה- is the Hebrew definite article, meaning the.

So:

• שחקן = actor / player
• השחקן = the actor
• ספסל = bench
• הספסל = the bench

In Hebrew, ה- is attached directly to the beginning of the noun, instead of being written as a separate word like English the.

Hebrew does not use a separate auxiliary like English is in this kind of present-tense sentence.

So:

• יושב can mean sits or is sitting
• שותה can mean drinks or is drinking

Hebrew simply uses the present-tense verb form itself. English needs is sitting and is drinking, but Hebrew does not.

Both are present-tense, masculine singular forms.

They match the subject השחקן, which is grammatically masculine singular.

• יושב = sitting / sits
• שותה = drinking / drinks

A learner will often hear that these forms are historically participles, but in Modern Hebrew they function as normal present-tense verb forms.

You usually know from context, because Hebrew present tense often covers both meanings.

So this sentence could be understood as:

• The actor sits on the bench and drinks water
• The actor is sitting on the bench and drinking water

In natural translation, English often chooses the progressive form is sitting / is drinking when describing a scene happening right now.

Because Hebrew, like English, can use one subject for two coordinated verbs.

So:

• השחקן יושב על הספסל ושותה מים = The actor sits/is sitting on the bench and drinks/is drinking water

The subject השחקן applies to both יושב and שותה. Hebrew does not need to repeat it.

ו- means and.

In Hebrew, and is usually attached directly to the next word, instead of standing alone as a separate word.

So:

• ושותה = and drinks / and is drinking

This is extremely common in Hebrew. You will see ו- attached to nouns, verbs, adjectives, and more.

Because את is used before a definite direct object, and מים here is not marked as definite.

Compare:

• שותה מים = drinking water
• שותה את המים = drinking the water

So in your sentence, מים means just water in a general sense, not the water, so את is not used.

Yes, מים is a plural-form noun, but its meaning is usually just water.

This is one of those Hebrew words that looks grammatically plural, even though in English we usually treat it as a mass noun. For example:

• מים קרים = cold water literally with a plural adjective

In this sentence, you simply translate מים as water.

על means on, upon, or sometimes over, depending on context.

Here it means on:

• על הספסל = on the bench

This is the normal preposition to use for sitting on a bench.

Yes. שחקן can mean actor or player, depending on context.

That is because the verb לשחק can relate to both acting and playing. So:

• in a theater or film context, שחקן often means actor
• in a sports context, שחקן often means player

Since the meaning has already been given to you, you should read it here as actor, but it is useful to know that the word can be ambiguous on its own.

You would usually say:

השחקנית יושבת על הספסל ושותה מים

That means The actress is sitting on the bench and drinking water.

Notice:

• השחקן = the actor
• השחקנית = the actress
• יושב changes to יושבת for a feminine subject

Interestingly, שותה is written the same way in masculine and feminine singular in unpointed Hebrew, although the pronunciation differs. So the spelling stays שותה.