Завтра у неё маникюр, поэтому она уже выбрала лак и хочет, чтобы ногти выглядели аккуратно.

У неё маникюр is a very natural Russian way to say that she has a manicure appointment or is getting a manicure.

A few notes:

• у + genitive is often used to express possession or something associated with a person:

  • У меня встреча = I have a meeting
  • У неё экзамен = She has an exam
  • У него маникюр = He/She has a manicure appointment

• иметь exists in Russian, but it is much less common than have in English for everyday possession or scheduled events.

• она делает маникюр would usually mean she is doing a manicure or she does manicures, not simply that she has an appointment tomorrow.

So here у неё маникюр is idiomatic and natural.

Because the pronoun comes after the preposition у, and that requires the genitive case.

The pronoun changes like this:

• она = she
• её / неё = her

After many prepositions, Russian uses the form with н-:

• у неё = with her / she has
• к ней = to her
• от неё = from her

So у неё маникюр literally has the structure at her there is a manicure appointment.

In this sentence, it most naturally means the appointment / manicure session.

Because the sentence starts with Завтра, the idea is:

• Tomorrow she is going to get her nails done
• She has a manicure appointment tomorrow

In context, Russian often uses the same noun for:

• the procedure
• the result
• the appointment

So маникюр can mean manicure in several related senses, just like in English.

Because the two actions happen at different times.

• Завтра у неё маникюр = the manicure is tomorrow
• она уже выбрала лак = she has already chosen the polish before now

So the sentence mixes:

• a future situation: tomorrow she has the appointment
• a completed past action relevant now: she already chose the polish

This is completely normal in both Russian and English.

Because the subject is она, and Russian past tense agrees with gender and number.

Compare:

• он выбрал = he chose
• она выбрала = she chose
• они выбрали = they chose

So выбрала tells you the subject is feminine singular.

Выбрала is the past tense of the perfective verb выбрать.

Perfective is used because the action is presented as completed:

• она выбрала лак = she chose the polish, and the choice is done

If you used the imperfective выбирала, it would suggest a process:

• она выбирала лак = she was choosing polish / she chose polish as an activity

In this sentence, the important point is the result: the polish has already been chosen. That is why perfective is the natural choice.

Both are possible, but лак is very natural here because the context already makes it clear we are talking about nails.

Since the sentence mentions:

• маникюр
• ногти

the listener automatically understands that лак means nail polish.

Russian often drops the longer phrase when the meaning is obvious from context:

• лак для ногтей = nail polish
• лак = polish, when the context is clear

So this is a normal, natural shortening.

Уже means already.

It shows that she has done this step in advance:

• она уже выбрала лак = she has already chosen the polish

That fits the context well: her manicure is tomorrow, and she has already prepared by choosing the color/product.

Without уже, the sentence would still be grammatical, but уже adds the sense of prior preparation.

This is one of the most important patterns in Russian.

After чтобы, Russian often uses a form that looks like the past tense, but it does not necessarily refer to past time. It is used for things that are:

• desired
• intended
• hypothetical
• expected

So:

• Она хочет, чтобы ногти выглядели аккуратно
  = She wants her nails to look neat

Here выглядели does not mean they looked neat in the past. It is part of the чтобы construction.

This is very common:

• Я хочу, чтобы он пришёл = I want him to come
• Мы хотим, чтобы всё было хорошо = We want everything to be good

So the pattern is:

• хотеть, чтобы + past-form verb

even when the meaning is future from the speaker’s point of view.

Because the subject of that clause is ногти, which is plural.

So the verb agrees with ногти:

• ноготь выглядел = the nail looked
• ногти выглядели = the nails looked

Even though чтобы uses a past-form verb, it still agrees in number and, when relevant, gender.

Because with выглядеть, Russian very often uses an adverb to describe overall appearance:

• выглядеть хорошо = to look good
• выглядеть плохо = to look bad
• выглядеть аккуратно = to look neat

So аккуратно is a very natural choice here.

You may also see adjective-based constructions in Russian, but выглядеть аккуратно is simple, idiomatic, and common in everyday speech.

In English, we often use an adjective after look:

• look neat

Russian often prefers an adverb in similar situations:

• выглядеть аккуратно

Russian punctuation requires both commas here.

1. Before поэтому
   The sentence joins two clauses:

• Завтра у неё маникюр
• поэтому она уже выбрала лак и хочет...

A comma separates these parts.

2. Before чтобы
   Чтобы introduces a subordinate clause:

• она хочет
• чтобы ногти выглядели аккуратно

Russian normally places a comma before чтобы in this structure.

So both commas are standard and expected.

Yes. Russian word order is flexible, and different versions can be correct.

The original sentence is natural because it flows like this:

1. time first: Завтра
2. situation: у неё маникюр
3. consequence: поэтому...
4. goal: чтобы ногти выглядели аккуратно

You could rearrange parts for emphasis, for example:

• Она уже выбрала лак, потому что завтра у неё маникюр.
• Завтра у неё маникюр, поэтому лак она уже выбрала...

But the original version sounds smooth and neutral.

Yes, that is possible.

• чтобы ногти выглядели аккуратно
• чтобы её ногти выглядели аккуратно

Both can mean so that her nails look neat.

Why omit её? Because it is already obvious from context that the nails are hers. Russian often leaves out possessive words when the meaning is clear.

So the shorter version sounds natural and is not ambiguous in this context.