Breakdown of Zrobił sobie małą przyjemność i zapalił ulubioną świeczkę.
i
and
mały
small
zrobić
to do / to make (someone something)
świeczka
candle
Questions & Answers about Zrobił sobie małą przyjemność i zapalił ulubioną świeczkę.
What exactly does sobie add to this sentence?
Sobie is the Dative form of the reflexive pronoun, meaning "to oneself" or "for oneself". Here, zrobił sobie literally means "he made for himself". We use it to show that an action was done for personal benefit or comfort. It is the most natural way to express "treating yourself" in Polish!
Why does the adjective małą end in -ą but the noun przyjemność doesn't change?
The phrase is the direct object of the verb, so it needs the Accusative case. Usually, feminine nouns take an -ę ending here. However, przyjemność is a feminine noun that ends in a consonant. These specific nouns do not change their form in the Accusative, but the adjective attached to them still takes the standard feminine Accusative ending -ą.
The English translation says "lit his favorite candle", but there is no word for "his" in Polish. Why?
In Polish, if the owner is obvious from the context, the possessive pronoun (like jego or swoją) is usually left out. Since the first half of the sentence establishes he is doing something for himself, it is naturally understood that the candle belongs to him.
Why use zapalił instead of palił?
Zapalił is a perfective verb, which we use for a single, completed action (the quick moment of lighting the candle). If you used the imperfective palił, it would mean he was in the continuous process of burning or smoking it.