Я иду по коридору и говорю шёпотом, чтобы не мешать.

I am walking along the corridor and speaking in a whisper so as not to disturb.

Breakdown of Я иду по коридору и говорю шёпотом, чтобы не мешать.

• я: I
• говорить: to speak
• и: and
• не: not
• идти: to walk
• коридор: the corridor
• мешать: to disturb
• шёпотом: in a whisper
• чтобы: so as to
• по: for

Questions & Answers about Я иду по коридору и говорю шёпотом, чтобы не мешать.

Why is it Я иду and not Я хожу?

Иду is the present tense of the imperfective verb идти, used for movement happening right now in one direction (you’re currently walking somewhere).
Хожу (from ходить) is also imperfective, but it usually means habitual/repeated movement or movement in different directions (e.g., Я хожу по коридору каждый день = “I walk along the corridor every day”).

What does по коридору literally mean, and why is it коридору?

По коридору means “along the corridor / down the corridor.”
After по with movement meaning “along/around,” Russian often uses the dative case, so коридор → коридору (dative singular).

Is по here the same as “on” in English?

Not really. По has many meanings. In this sentence it’s the “along/through an area” use: идти по коридору = “walk down the corridor.” It’s more like “along” than “on.”

Could I say в коридоре instead of по коридору?

В коридоре means “in the corridor” (location), not “along/down it.”

• Я иду по коридору = you’re moving along the corridor
• Я в коридоре / Я стою в коридоре = you’re in the corridor (not necessarily moving)

Why does Russian say говорю шёпотом instead of “in a whisper”?

Russian often expresses “in a _ (manner)” with the instrumental case.
шёпот = “whisper” (noun) → шёпотом (instrumental) = “in a whisper / in a low voice.”

Is шёпотом instrumental case, and what question does it answer?

Yes, шёпотом is instrumental singular. In this usage it answers “how?/in what manner?”—often taught as чем? in a broader sense of “by what means / in what way.”
So говорю (как?) шёпотом = “I speak (how?) in a whisper.”

Why is there ё in шёпотом, and is it important?

The spelling ё shows the pronunciation [yo] and usually indicates stress: шЁпотом. In many texts it’s written as шепотом, but it’s still pronounced шёпотом. Learners benefit from keeping ё because it clarifies both sound and stress.

Why is there a comma before чтобы?

Because чтобы не мешать introduces a purpose clause (“in order not to…”). In Russian, a чтобы-clause is normally separated by a comma:
…говорю шёпотом, чтобы не мешать.

What exactly does чтобы mean here, and why is it followed by an infinitive?

Here чтобы means “so that / in order to.” When the subject is the same person (I am walking and I want not to disturb), Russian commonly uses чтобы + infinitive:
чтобы не мешать = “so as not to disturb.”

Why is it не мешать (imperfective) and not не помешать (perfective)?

Both can work, but they differ in nuance.

• чтобы не мешать (imperfective) = “so as not to be disturbing / not to cause disturbance (in general, as a process)”
• чтобы не помешать (perfective) = “so as not to disturb (at a specific moment / cause a single disruption)”
  In a corridor-whisper situation, the general/process meaning (не мешать) is very natural.

Who is being disturbed? Should there be a word like никому (“to anyone”)?

Russian often leaves the person implied when it’s obvious from context. мешать normally takes a dative object (мешать кому?), but it can be omitted:

• …чтобы не мешать (никому) = “so as not to disturb (anyone)”
• …чтобы не мешать людям = “so as not to disturb people”
  The sentence is complete without saying it explicitly.

Why is и used (“I walk … and speak …”) instead of something like a gerund (“while walking”)?

Russian frequently coordinates two simultaneous actions with и: иду и говорю = “I’m walking and talking.”
A gerund is also possible and slightly more “literary”:
Идя по коридору, я говорю шёпотом, чтобы не мешать.
But the original version sounds natural and conversational.

Can the word order change? For example, Я говорю шёпотом и иду по коридору…?

Yes. Russian word order is flexible and changes emphasis.

• Я иду по коридору и говорю шёпотом… focuses first on the movement, then adds how you speak.
• Я говорю шёпотом и иду по коридору… foregrounds the whispering first.
  The core meaning stays the same.

What is the tense of иду and говорю, and does Russian have a separate “continuous” form like English?

Both are present tense imperfective forms. Russian doesn’t have a separate “I am walking / I am speaking” continuous form; the simple present imperfective often covers that meaning. So Я иду can mean “I go” or “I’m going,” but in context it’s clearly “I’m walking (right now).”