Breakdown of Как-то зимой он приехал без звонка.
он
he / it (for a masculine noun) / it (for a neuter noun)
зимой
in winter
приехать
to arrive (by transport, pf)
звонок
bell
как-то
somehow; one day (colloquial)
Questions & Answers about Как-то зимой он приехал без звонка.
Why does this sentence use как-то instead of a word with the suffix -либо?
The suffix -то is used for real events that actually happened, even if the details are vague. Here, как-то means once or one time. The suffix -либо, which you are currently learning, is used for purely hypothetical situations (any way at all). Since his arrival is a concrete past event, как-то is correct, whereas как-либо would sound wrong.
I thought как-то meant somehow. Why does the translation say one day?
You are right that как-то often means somehow or in some manner. However, when used in a past-tense narrative or alongside time words, it translates to once, sometime, or one day. In this sentence, как-то зимой naturally translates to one winter day.
Why is зима changed to зимой here?
This is the instrumental case. In Russian, the instrumental case is often used with seasons and times of day to express when an action happens. So зима (winter) becomes зимой (in the winter or during winter).
Does без звонка literally mean without a bell?
It can mean without a bell, but in modern Russian звонок also commonly means a telephone call. The phrase без звонка is the standard way to say someone showed up unannounced, meaning literally without a call. The noun is in the genitive case because it follows the preposition без.
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