Musiałam wyjąć inhalator z plecaka i wziąć tylko mały łyk herbaty.

Musiałam is the past tense of musieć (to have to / must) for a female speaker saying I had to.

• musiałam = I had to (female speaker)
• musiałem = I had to (male speaker)

In Polish past tense, the speaker’s gender matters.

Because after musiałam, Polish uses the infinitive, just like English uses to + verb after had to.

So:

• musiałam wyjąć = I had to take out
• musiałam wziąć = I had to take

In this sentence, musiałam applies to both verbs:

• Musiałam wyjąć ... i wziąć ...
• literally: I had to take out ... and take ...

Because it is not necessary. Polish often avoids repeating a verb when it clearly applies to both parts of the sentence.

So this:

• Musiałam wyjąć inhalator z plecaka i wziąć tylko mały łyk herbaty.

means the same as the more expanded:

• Musiałam wyjąć inhalator z plecaka i musiałam wziąć tylko mały łyk herbaty.

The shorter version sounds more natural.

Both wyjąć and wziąć are perfective verbs. Here that fits because the sentence describes single, completed actions:

• take the inhaler out once
• take one small sip

Perfective is very common when talking about a concrete completed action.

Their imperfective partners would be:

• wyjmować = to be taking out / to take out repeatedly
• brać = to take / be taking

Using imperfective here would suggest a more ongoing, repeated, or less bounded action, which does not fit as well.

Because the preposition z meaning from / out of requires the genitive case.

• plecak = backpack (dictionary form / nominative)
• z plecaka = from the backpack / out of the backpack (genitive)

So:

• wyjąć coś z plecaka
• take something out of the backpack

It is the direct object of wyjąć, so it is in the accusative case. But inhalator is a masculine inanimate noun, and in the singular, masculine inanimate nouns usually have:

• nominative = accusative

So:

• inhalator (nominative)
• widzę / biorę / wyjmuję inhalator (accusative, same form)

This is normal. Compare that with a masculine animate noun, which would change:

• pies → widzę psa

Because mały łyk is the direct object of wziąć, so it is in the accusative. And again, łyk is masculine inanimate, so its accusative singular looks the same as the nominative.

That is why you get:

• mały łyk

and not a changed form.

The adjective matches the noun:

• mały
  • łyk

If this were a feminine noun, you would see a clearer accusative change, for example:

• mała kawa → wziąć małą kawę

Because herbaty depends on łyk.

This is the pattern a sip of tea, where Polish uses the genitive after a noun expressing a portion, amount, or container.

So:

• łyk herbaty = a sip of tea
• szklanka wody = a glass of water
• kawałek chleba = a piece of bread
• filiżanka kawy = a cup of coffee

So here:

• mały łyk herbaty
• literally: a small sip of tea

Yes. Wziąć łyk is a natural way to say take a sip.

It focuses on one sip as a small, single action.

Compare:

• wziąć łyk herbaty = take a sip of tea
• napić się herbaty = drink some tea / have some tea

The second one is broader and does not focus so strongly on just one sip.

Wyjąć means to take out / remove, and it is commonly used with z + genitive:

• wyjąć książkę z torby = take a book out of the bag
• wyjąć klucze z kieszeni = take the keys out of the pocket
• wyjąć inhalator z plecaka = take the inhaler out of the backpack

So wyjąć is more specific than just wziąć. It is not just take, but take out from inside something.

Here tylko means only / just, and it limits the noun phrase that follows:

• wziąć tylko mały łyk herbaty
• take only a small sip of tea

This is a very natural placement.

Polish word order is flexible, but moving tylko can shift emphasis. For example:

• wziąć tylko mały łyk herbaty = only a small sip
• tylko wziąć mały łyk herbaty = stronger emphasis on the action being the only thing done

So the original version is the most neutral for this meaning.