Breakdown of Udało im się przygotować posiłek bez przypraw.
przygotować
to prepare
im
them (dative)
bez
without
udać się
to succeed, to work out (udało się)
posiłek
meal
przyprawa
spice
Questions & Answers about Udało im się przygotować posiłek bez przypraw.
Since the lesson is about z wyjątkiem, could I use z wyjątkiem przypraw instead of bez przypraw here?
Grammatically, yes! Both bez (without) and the compound preposition z wyjątkiem (with the exception of) require the Genitive case. However, bez przypraw simply means "without spices," whereas z wyjątkiem przypraw means "with the exception of spices" (which would imply they used many ingredients, but specifically left out spices).
Why is the sentence using im instead of the regular subject oni (they)?
The verb udać się (to manage to / to succeed) uses an impersonal structure where the person succeeding takes the Dative case. Polish literally phrases this as "It managed itself to them." So, the Nominative oni changes to the Dative pronoun im.
Why does the word przypraw have no vowel ending here?
It is in the Genitive plural, which is required by the preposition bez. The basic singular noun is przyprawa (spice), which is feminine. To form the Genitive plural of most feminine nouns ending in -a, you drop that -a, leaving a "zero ending": przypraw.
Is posiłek in the Nominative case here?
It looks identical to it, but it is actually in the Accusative case because it is the direct object of the verb przygotować (to prepare). For inanimate masculine nouns like posiłek (meal), the Accusative form shares the exact same form as the Nominative.
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