Сегодня мне не до прогулок: у меня высокая температура.

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Breakdown of Сегодня мне не до прогулок: у меня высокая температура.

• сегодня: today
• прогулка: the walk
• высокий: high

Questions & Answers about Сегодня мне не до прогулок: у меня высокая температура.

What does мне не до прогулок literally mean, and why doesn’t it translate word-for-word into natural English?

Literally, мне не до прогулок means something like to me, it is not up to walks or walks are not for me right now. But this is an idiomatic Russian expression.

не до + genitive is used when someone is not in the mood for, not in a position for, or has no time/energy for something.

So in natural English, мне не до прогулок means:

• I don’t feel like going for walks
• I’m in no condition for walks
• It’s not the time for walks for me

It often suggests that something more important or more serious is preventing the activity.

Why is it мне, not я?

Because the expression не до takes the person in the dative case, not the nominative.

So:

• я = I
• мне = to me / for me

In this structure, Russian does not say я не до.... It says мне не до..., because the idea is closer to for me, it’s not the time/occasion/state for...

Compare:

• Мне холодно = I am cold
• Мне грустно = I am sad
• Мне не до шуток = I’m not in the mood for jokes

Why is it прогулок and not прогулки or прогулку?