Не то чтобы я очень любил баклажан, но кабачок мне нравится больше.

It’s an idiomatic softening phrase. In this sentence, Не то чтобы я очень любил... means something like:

• It’s not that I really loved...
• Not exactly that I was a big fan of...
• I wouldn’t say I really loved...

It often introduces a mild correction or a more nuanced opinion. The speaker is not making a strong negative statement; they are gently saying, I wasn’t especially enthusiastic about eggplant.

Because Russian often uses the past tense after не то чтобы in this kind of reflective, evaluative statement.

So Не то чтобы я очень любил баклажан does not necessarily mean only in the past. It can sound more like:

• It’s not that I’m/was a huge fan of eggplant
• I wouldn’t say I really loved eggplant

The past tense here gives the statement a slightly softer, less direct tone.

Also, любил is imperfective, which fits because this is about a general attitude, not a completed action.

A present-tense version like Не то чтобы я очень люблю баклажан is possible in some contexts, but любил sounds very natural in this pattern.

In Russian, the past tense agrees with the speaker’s gender.

So:

• a male speaker says я любил
• a female speaker says я любила

Because the sentence has я, the form of the past tense verb tells you something about the speaker.

Because баклажан is the direct object of любил, so it is in the accusative case. But for an inanimate masculine singular noun, the accusative looks the same as the nominative.

So:

• nominative: баклажан
• accusative: баклажан

If it were an animate masculine noun, the accusative would look different.

Also, the singular here is used in a generic sense: the speaker means eggplant as a food/category, not one single literal eggplant.

Because нравиться works differently from English to like.

Russian structure:

• мне нравится кабачок
• literally: zucchini is pleasing to me

So:

• мне = to me (dative)
• кабачок = the thing that pleases me, so it is the grammatical subject
• нравится agrees with кабачок because кабачок is singular

This is one of the most important patterns in Russian:

• я люблю X = I love X / I really like X
• мне нравится X = I like X / X appeals to me

Because the two verbs are similar but not identical in tone.

• любить is stronger: to love / to really like
• нравиться is milder: to like / to appeal to

So the sentence has a natural nuance:

• I wouldn’t say I really loved eggplant
• but I like zucchini more

Using different verbs helps show the speaker’s attitude more precisely. It sounds more natural than mechanically repeating one verb.

Больше means more / more than.

Here, кабачок мне нравится больше means:

• I like zucchini more
• more than eggplant, which is understood from the previous clause

Russian often leaves out the second part of a comparison when it is obvious.

If you wanted to state it fully, you could say:

• Кабачок мне нравится больше, чем баклажан.

So yes, the comparison target is implicit.

Because Russian often omits it when the comparison is already clear from context.

The full version would be:

• Кабачок мне нравится больше, чем баклажан.

But since eggplant was just mentioned, чем баклажан is not necessary.

This kind of omission is very common in everyday Russian.

Russian often uses the singular to talk about a food or category in general.

So here:

• баклажан = eggplant in general
• кабачок = zucchini in general

This does not mean one individual eggplant and one individual zucchini. It’s a generic use, similar to how languages often talk about foods as categories.

You could sometimes also use plurals, but the singular is completely natural here.

It looks like one because of the ending -ок, but in modern Russian кабачок is the normal standard word for zucchini / courgette / summer squash.

So in this sentence, it is best to understand it simply as the ordinary vegetable name, not as an affectionate little zucchini.

Context matters, of course, but here it is just the normal noun.

Russian word order is flexible, and several versions are possible.

The given order is natural and clear:

• кабачок comes first, making it prominent as the thing being contrasted with баклажан
• мне нравится больше then gives the speaker’s opinion about it

Other word orders are also possible, with slightly different emphasis:

• Мне кабачок нравится больше
• Мне больше нравится кабачок

These are not radically different in meaning. The main difference is where the emphasis falls.

Sometimes yes, but но is a good choice here.

• но = but, stronger sense of contrast
• а = often a softer contrast or a shift to another point

In this sentence, the speaker sets up one idea and then contrasts it with another, so но works very naturally.

Using а might make the contrast feel a bit looser or more conversational, but но is perfectly standard here.

Очень means very, and it modifies любил.

So:

• я любил баклажан = I loved / really liked eggplant
• я очень любил баклажан = I loved eggplant very much

Because the whole phrase is negated through Не то чтобы..., the meaning becomes softer:

• It’s not that I loved eggplant very much
• I wouldn’t say I was very fond of eggplant

So очень strengthens the verb, while не то чтобы weakens the whole claim.