Не то чтобы мне хотелось весь день копать, но я всё-таки взял лопату и помог бабушке в саду.

Не то чтобы is a very common Russian pattern used to soften what you are saying. It means something like:

• It’s not that...
• Not exactly that...
• It’s not really the case that...

So Не то чтобы мне хотелось весь день копать does not mean a flat, direct I didn’t want to dig all day. It sounds softer and more nuanced:

• It’s not that I particularly wanted to dig all day
• Not that I was eager to spend the whole day digging

It often introduces a contrast: I wasn’t exactly enthusiastic, but I did it anyway.

Because хотеться is an impersonal verb-like form meaning to feel like / to want in a more general or emotional sense.

• Я хотел = I wanted
  This is more direct and personal.
• Мне хотелось = I felt like / I wanted
  This is softer, less direct, and often more natural in sentences about mood or desire.

In Russian, with хотеться, the person goes in the dative case:

• мне хотелось = I wanted / I felt like
• literally something like to me it was wanted

So мне хотелось весь день копать is a natural way to say I felt like digging all day or I wanted to dig all day.

Good question, because learners often confuse them.

• хотелось = wanted / felt like
• хотелось бы = would like

So:

• Мне хотелось весь день копать = I wanted / felt like digging all day
• Мне хотелось бы весь день копать = I would like to dig all day

In your sentence, хотелось fits because the speaker is talking about an actual inner feeling at that moment, not a hypothetical polite wish.

After хотелось, Russian often uses an infinitive to say what someone feels like doing.

Pattern:

• мне хотелось + infinitive

Examples:

• Мне хотелось спать. = I wanted to sleep.
• Мне хотелось уйти. = I wanted to leave.
• Мне хотелось копать. = I wanted to dig.

So весь день копать means to dig all day.

Both весь день and целый день can mean the whole day / all day.

• весь день = all day, the whole day
• целый день = the whole day, often with a slight sense of duration or emphasis

In this sentence, весь день is just a natural choice.

As for the grammar: Russian often uses the accusative case without a preposition to express duration of time.

So:

• весь день = all day
• всю ночь = all night
• всю неделю = all week

That is why there is no word like for here.

Всё-таки is a very useful word meaning something like:

• still
• nevertheless
• all the same
• after all

It shows that something happened despite hesitation, doubt, or contrast.

So here:

• но я всё-таки взял лопату... = but I still took the shovel... = but I ended up taking the shovel anyway...

It connects nicely with the first part:

• I wasn’t excited about digging all day,
• but I did it anyway.

This is about verb aspect.

• взять = perfective
• брать = imperfective

взял means a completed single action: took / picked up.

In the sentence, the speaker is describing a sequence of completed actions:

1. взял лопату = took the shovel
2. помог бабушке = helped grandmother

So the perfective взял is the natural choice.

If you said брал, it would sound more like:

• was taking
• used to take
• took repeatedly
• or focus on process rather than completion

That would not fit as well here.

Because лопату is the accusative singular form of лопата.

• dictionary form: лопата = shovel, spade
• accusative singular: лопату

It is in the accusative because it is the direct object of взял:

• взял что? → лопату

This is a common pattern for feminine nouns ending in -а:

• книга → книгу
• машина → машину
• лопата → лопату

Because the verb помочь / помогать takes the person being helped in the dative case, not the accusative.

So:

• помочь кому? = to help whom?
• бабушке = to grandmother

That is why it is:

• я помог бабушке

not:

• я помог бабушку

This is different from English, where help takes a direct object. In Russian, you should remember:

• помогать / помочь + dative

Examples:

• помочь другу = help a friend
• помочь маме = help mom
• помочь бабушке = help grandmother

The normal prepositional form of сад is в саду, and this is something you largely learn as a fixed form.

• сад = garden, orchard
• в саду = in the garden

Russian has a small group of masculine nouns where location with в / на often uses -у / -ю instead of the more expected ending. This is sometimes called the second prepositional or locative.

Common examples:

• в лесу = in the forest
• в шкафу = in the cupboard
• в году = in the year
• в саду = in the garden

So в саду is simply the natural form meaning in the garden.

Yes, Russian word order is flexible, but the original order sounds very natural.

Original: Не то чтобы мне хотелось весь день копать, но я всё-таки взял лопату и помог бабушке в саду.

Why it works well:

• Не то чтобы... sets up the speaker’s attitude first
• но introduces contrast
• я всё-таки emphasizes I did it anyway
• взял лопату и помог gives a clear sequence of actions

You could rearrange parts, but the emphasis would change. For example:

• Но я всё-таки взял лопату и помог бабушке в саду. More neutral if used alone.

• Я всё-таки взял лопату и помог бабушке в саду, хотя мне не то чтобы хотелось весь день копать. Same general idea, but the contrast is structured differently.

So the word order here is not random; it supports the natural flow of thought.

Not always.

Russian often says бабушка / дедушка / мама / папа without a possessive like my, when the relationship is obvious from context.

So помог бабушке usually means:

• helped my grandmother
• or simply helped grandmother / grandma

In English, we often need my. In Russian, it is often omitted if it is clear.

The tone is mild, conversational, and slightly reluctant but warm.

The speaker is saying:

• I wasn’t exactly excited about doing this,
• but I still did the decent thing and helped.

Several parts create that tone:

• Не то чтобы softens the negative feeling
• мне хотелось sounds less blunt than я хотел
• всё-таки shows reluctant willingness or a sense of duty
• помог бабушке в саду adds a caring, everyday context

So it sounds natural and human, not dramatic or formal.