После университета она получила диплом и сразу начала работать.

Because после requires the genitive case.

• университет = nominative
• университета = genitive singular

So:

• после университета = after university / after finishing university

This is a very common pattern in Russian:

• после урока = after the lesson
• после работы = after work
• после фильма = after the film

Because университет is a masculine noun, and in the genitive singular many masculine nouns take -а (or -я).

So:

• университет → университета
• студент → студента
• город → города

Since после needs the genitive, университет changes to университета.

In this sentence, it most naturally means after university, in the sense of after finishing her university studies.

Russian often uses this shorter expression where English might say:

• after graduating from university
• after finishing university

If you wanted to be more explicit, you could say:

• После окончания университета... = After graduating from university...

But После университета is very natural and common.

Not always exactly.

In this sentence, диплом usually means the degree certificate or university diploma someone receives after completing higher education. In many contexts, it is close to:

• degree
• diploma
• graduation certificate

So получила диплом means she graduated and received her diploma/degree certificate.

A learner should remember that Russian диплом is often broader or more central in education-related speech than English diploma might be.

Because получила is perfective past, and it presents the action as a completed event.

• получила диплом = she received the diploma, as a finished fact
• получала диплом would suggest an ongoing, repeated, or background action, which does not fit well here

This sentence tells a sequence of completed events:

1. after university
2. she received her diploma
3. she immediately began working

That is why perfective is natural here.

Because начала работать means began to work / started working, while работала just means worked / was working.

Compare:

• Она начала работать = She started working
• Она работала = She worked / was working

The sentence emphasizes the beginning of her work life right after graduation, so начала работать is the right choice.

Because after the verb начать (to begin/start), Russian normally uses an infinitive.

So:

• начала работать = began to work / started working
• literally: began + to work

This is similar to English:

• started working
• began to work

Other common examples:

• начал читать = began to read
• начала учиться = began to study
• начали говорить = began to speak

After начать, Russian usually uses an imperfective infinitive, because the focus is on the start of a process or activity.

• работать is imperfective: to work, to be working
• The sentence means she entered into the activity of working

This is very normal:

• начал писать = began writing
• начала учить русский = began studying Russian
• начали строить дом = began building a house

The perfective idea is already contained in начала (started), so the following infinitive is usually imperfective.

Сразу means immediately / right away.

In this sentence:

• и сразу начала работать = and immediately started working

Its placement before начала работать is natural because it modifies the whole action started working.

Russian word order is flexible, but this position is very common and clear.

For example:

• Она сразу ушла. = She left immediately.
• Он сразу понял. = He understood immediately.

Because и joins two actions with the same subject:

• она получила диплом
• (она) сразу начала работать

In a simple sentence with one subject and coordinated verbs, Russian does not use a comma before и.

So this is like:

• She received her diploma and immediately started working.

No comma is needed.

Yes, often it could be omitted if the subject is already clear from context.

For example:

• После университета получила диплом и сразу начала работать.

This can sound natural in context, especially in conversation or narrative, if we already know who is being discussed.

But она is included here to make the subject explicit and clear. Russian often omits pronouns, but it does not have to.

Yes, Russian word order is flexible, and other orders are possible.

The given sentence is neutral and natural:

• После университета она получила диплом и сразу начала работать.

You could also hear variations such as:

• После университета она сразу начала работать.
• Она после университета получила диплом и сразу начала работать.

But changing the order can slightly shift the emphasis.

The original sentence flows naturally as a sequence:

1. После университета
2. она получила диплом
3. и сразу начала работать

Yes, absolutely.

• После университета = after university
• После окончания университета = after finishing/graduating from university

The second version is more explicit and a bit more formal. The first version is shorter and very natural in everyday Russian.

So both are correct, but:

• После университета sounds simpler and more conversational
• После окончания университета sounds more detailed and precise

The main verbs are in the past tense:

• получила = received
• начала = began

Because the subject is feminine (она), the past tense verbs take the feminine ending -а:

• получил → masculine

• получила → feminine

• начал → masculine
• начала → feminine

So the sentence clearly refers to something that happened in the past to she.

Because the subject is она (she), and in Russian the past tense agrees with the subject in gender and number.

So:

• он получил, начал = he received, began
• она получила, начала = she received, began
• они получили, начали = they received, began

This is one of the key differences from English: Russian past tense forms show gender in the singular.

Yes, it presents a natural chronological sequence:

1. После университета = after university
2. она получила диплом = she received her diploma
3. и сразу начала работать = and immediately started working

The adverb сразу strongly suggests that there was little or no delay between getting the diploma and starting work.

So the sentence gives a compact life-event sequence: graduation, diploma, then work right away.