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Oprócz deseru nie mamy nic.

Oprócz deseru nie mamy nic.
Besides dessert, we don't have anything.
From Lesson 105:Prepositions taking the Genitive case·Polish

Questions & Answers about Oprócz deseru nie mamy nic.

Why does the word deser change to deseru here?
The preposition oprócz (besides, apart from) requires the noun following it to take the Genitive case. Deser is a masculine inanimate noun, and its Genitive form takes the -u ending, making it deseru.
Does oprócz mean 'besides' as in 'in addition to', or 'except'?
It can mean both! Oprócz translates to 'apart from', which covers both 'in addition to' and 'except for' depending on the context. Here, the negative phrase nie mamy nic makes it clear that it means 'except': except for the dessert, we have nothing else.
The English translation says 'anything', but doesn't nic mean 'nothing'?
Yes, nic means 'nothing'. Polish requires double negation. Whenever you use a negative pronoun like nic (nothing) or nikt (nobody), you must also put the negative word nie right before the verb. You are literally saying 'we do not have nothing'.
Can I change the word order to Nie mamy nic oprócz deseru?
Yes, that is perfectly correct and very common. Putting oprócz deseru at the beginning of the sentence simply adds a bit of emphasis to the dessert, just like starting the English translation with 'Besides dessert...' instead of putting it at the end.

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