Не то чтобы мне очень нравилось вставать рано, но летом ради сада я просыпаюсь без будильника.

It is a fixed expression that softens what follows. In English, it often corresponds to It’s not that..., Not exactly that..., or I wouldn’t say that....

So Не то чтобы мне очень нравилось вставать рано, но... means something like:

It’s not that I really enjoy getting up early, but...

The speaker is not making a strong negative statement. They are gently saying I’m not a big fan of this, but there is a reason I do it.

Because не то чтобы is treated as one set expression here.

So you write:

Не то чтобы мне очень нравилось..., но...

The comma appears before но, because that is where the contrast between the two clauses is marked.

Because нравиться works differently from English to like.

Russian нравиться literally works more like to be pleasing to someone. The person who feels the liking goes in the dative case:

• мне нравится = it is pleasing to me
• тебе нравится = it is pleasing to you

So:

мне очень нравилось вставать рано

literally means something like:

Getting up early was very pleasing to me

That is why Russian uses мне, not я.

Because the thing being liked is the whole action вставать рано.

In Russian, when an infinitive phrase acts like the subject of the sentence, the verb often appears in neuter singular:

• Мне нравится читать
• Мне нравилось вставать рано

So нравилось is not describing the speaker’s gender. It is the normal neuter form used with an infinitive idea such as getting up early.

This is a very natural question.

After не то чтобы, Russian often uses a past-tense form to sound less direct, less categorical, or more conversational. In other words, the past tense here does not have to mean only in the past.

So in this sentence, нравилось helps create the soft, hedged feeling of:

It’s not like I really enjoy getting up early...

A more straightforward present-tense version could be possible in other contexts, but не то чтобы мне очень нравилось... sounds especially idiomatic and natural.

Because вставать is the imperfective verb, and it is used for a general, repeated, or habitual action.

Here the idea is getting up early in general, not getting up early one single time.

• вставать рано = to get up early regularly / as a habit
• встать рано = to get up early on one occasion, or as a completed act

So вставать is the natural choice here.

Летом is the instrumental singular of лето.

Russian often uses the instrumental case in set time expressions with the seasons:

• зимой = in winter
• весной = in spring
• летом = in summer
• осенью = in autumn

So летом simply means in summer.

Ради means for the sake of, for, or because of in the sense of motivation.

So ради сада means:

• for the sake of the garden
• because of the garden
• for the garden

The idea is that the speaker wakes up early because they want to take care of the garden.

Because ради requires the genitive case.

The noun сад becomes сада in the genitive singular:

• сад → сада

This is just a standard case pattern:

• ради семьи = for the sake of the family
• ради детей = for the sake of the children
• ради сада = for the sake of the garden

Yes, -ся is important. The verb просыпаться / проснуться means to wake up.

So:

• я просыпаюсь = I wake up / I am waking up

The -ся is part of the verb itself. You cannot simply remove it and keep the same meaning.

Also, просыпаюсь is the imperfective present, which fits a habitual action: the speaker regularly wakes up this way in summer.

They are related, but they are not the same.

• просыпаюсь = I wake up
• встаю = I get up / stand up / rise from bed

In this sentence, the speaker says they wake up without an alarm clock. That focuses on the moment of becoming awake, not necessarily the moment they physically leave the bed.

So просыпаюсь без будильника is more precise than встаю без будильника.

Because без always takes the genitive case.

So:

• будильник → будильника

That gives:

без будильника = without an alarm clock

This is a very common pattern:

• без сахара = without sugar
• без воды = without water
• без будильника = without an alarm clock

Yes, but in a natural Russian way.

Russian word order is flexible, and this order helps the sentence flow well:

Не то чтобы мне очень нравилось вставать рано, но летом ради сада я просыпаюсь без будильника.

The structure does a few things:

• Не то чтобы... sets up a soft concession
• но introduces the contrast
• летом brings in the time frame early
• ради сада highlights the reason before the main action
• я просыпаюсь без будильника gives the result

So the word order is not random. It helps emphasize:

I don’t especially love getting up early, but in summer, because of the garden, I wake up without an alarm clock.