Breakdown of Dwie ze zdolnych aktorek trafiły do obsady po tym przesłuchaniu.
ten
this (m)
aktorka
actress
dwa
two
do
to
Questions & Answers about Dwie ze zdolnych aktorek trafiły do obsady po tym przesłuchaniu.
Why is it ze instead of z in ze zdolnych?
We use ze to make pronunciation easier. The preposition z changes to ze when the following word starts with a tricky consonant cluster, particularly one that begins with a sibilant sound (like z, s, sz, rz) followed by another consonant. Since zdolnych starts with zd-, saying z zdolnych would be almost impossible to pronounce clearly.
How does the partitive phrase dwie ze zdolnych aktorek affect the verb ending in trafiły?
Because the subject is a specific number of women (dwie), it behaves like a standard feminine plural subject. Therefore, the verb takes the non-masculine-personal plural ending -ły, resulting in trafiły. If we had used a loose quantifier like dużo (a lot) or kilka (a few), the verb would have required the neuter singular ending, making it trafiło.
I learned that trafić means to hit a target. How does it translate to making it to the cast here?
While trafić literally means to hit a target, it is very frequently used in Polish to mean ending up somewhere, finding one's way, or being placed. In the context of trafiły do obsady, it perfectly captures the idea of successfully landing a spot in the cast.