Не те щоб полуниця дорога, але вона ще не стигла.

Yes, не те щоб is an idiomatic expression meaning something like:

• it’s not that...
• not exactly that...
• it’s not really because...

In this sentence, it softens or corrects a possible explanation:

• Не те щоб полуниця дорога...
  = It’s not that the strawberries are expensive...

The speaker is saying: price is not really the problem. The real issue comes in the second part: але вона ще не стигла.

A very natural English rendering is:

• It’s not that the strawberries are expensive; they’re just not ripe yet.

So yes, it is close to English not that, but as a fixed Ukrainian phrase it often has a slightly hedging, conversational feel.

Because полуниця can be used as a mass/collective noun in Ukrainian.

So:

• полуниця can mean strawberry as a single berry in some contexts,
• but very often it means strawberries in general, as a food/product.

That is why the sentence uses singular grammar:

• полуниця дорога
• вона ще не стигла

Even though English often prefers the plural strawberries, Ukrainian commonly uses the singular noun for the product as a whole.

Compare the idea in English:

• Strawberries are expensive.
• but Ukrainian can naturally say something closer in grammar to
  Strawberry is expensive = полуниця дорога.

This is normal Ukrainian usage, not a mistake.

Because дорога agrees with полуниця, which is grammatically:

• feminine
• singular
• nominative

So the adjective must also be feminine singular nominative:

• полуниця дорога = the strawberries / strawberry are expensive

If the noun were plural, you would use дорогі:

• ягоди дорогі = the berries are expensive

But here the noun is полуниця, so дорога is correct.

Because in Ukrainian, the verb to be in the present tense is usually omitted.

So:

• полуниця дорога literally looks like strawberry expensive
• but it means the strawberries are expensive

This is completely normal in Ukrainian.

Compare:

• Вона гарна. = She is pretty.
• Кава гаряча. = The coffee is hot.
• Полуниця дорога. = The strawberries are expensive.

In the present tense, Ukrainian usually does not say є in simple sentences like this unless there is a special reason for emphasis or structure.

For the same reason: полуниця is grammatically singular.

Since полуниця is feminine singular, the pronoun referring back to it is also feminine singular:

• полуниця → вона

So:

• але вона ще не стигла
  literally = but it/she is not ripe yet

In natural English, we usually translate this as:

• but they’re not ripe yet or
• but the strawberries aren’t ripe yet

The Ukrainian grammar follows the noun’s grammatical form, not the English translation choice.

ще не стигла means is not ripe yet.

Breakdown:

• ще = still / yet
• не = not
• стигла = ripe / has ripened

Together:

• ще не стигла = has not ripened yet / is still not ripe

In context, the most natural translation is:

• but it’s not ripe yet or
• but the strawberries aren’t ripe yet

This is a very common pattern in Ukrainian:

• ще не готовий = not ready yet
• ще не пізно = it’s not too late yet
• ще не знаю = I don’t know yet

Because it agrees with полуниця, which is feminine singular.

So just like дорога, the form стигла is chosen to match the noun:

• полуниця дорога
• вона ще не стигла

If the noun were masculine, neuter, or plural, the form would change:

• помідор стиглий = the tomato is ripe
• яблуко стигле = the apple is ripe
• ягоди стиглі = the berries are ripe

This agreement is a basic feature of Ukrainian adjectives and adjective-like forms.

In sentences like this, learners often think of it as adjective-like: ripe.

Historically and grammatically, it is related to the verb стигнути / достигати (to ripen / become ripe), but in everyday use стиглий / стигла / стигле / стиглі functions very much like an adjective meaning ripe.

So in practice, it is easiest to understand:

• стиглий банан = a ripe banana
• полуниця ще не стигла = the strawberries are not ripe yet

For a learner, thinking of стигла here as ripe is perfectly useful.

Yes, very common.

It is used when the speaker wants to say:

• it’s not really that X, but rather Y
• not exactly X; the real point is Y

So the structure is often:

• Не те щоб X, але Y.

Examples:

• Не те щоб я втомився, але хочу відпочити.
  = It’s not that I’m tired, but I want to rest.

• Не те щоб він поганий, але з ним важко працювати.
  = It’s not that he’s bad, but he’s difficult to work with.

• Не те щоб полуниця дорога, але вона ще не стигла.
  = It’s not that the strawberries are expensive, but they’re not ripe yet.

This construction often sounds nuanced, polite, or slightly hesitant.

Yes. A fuller version would be:

• Не те щоб полуниця була дорогою, але вона ще не стигла.

That is also correct and may sound a bit more explicit.

Why is була missing in the original sentence? Because Ukrainian often leaves out the present-tense to be, especially in everyday speech and writing.

Also note the form difference:

• полуниця дорога
• but with була you would usually say дорогою in more formal grammar after бути:
  • полуниця була дорогою

That said, learners should mainly remember this:

• without a verb: полуниця дорога
• with past/future forms of бути: other case patterns may appear, especially in more standard or careful language

The original sentence is natural and idiomatic.

але means but and introduces the real contrast:

• Не те щоб полуниця дорога, але вона ще не стигла.

The contrast is:

• not because it’s expensive
• but because it isn’t ripe yet

Could a appear in some Ukrainian contrasts? Yes, а is also often translated as and/but, especially for contrastive statements. But in this sentence, але works very naturally because the speaker is making a clearer but-type opposition.

So for a learner:

• але = stronger, clearer but
• а = often a softer contrast or comparison

Here але is the most straightforward choice.

A learner may want to know the common stress pattern:

• полуни́ця
• дорога́
• ще
• не
• стигла́

So the sentence is pronounced approximately like:

• Не те щоб полуни́ця дорога́, але вона́ ще не стигла́.

Stress is important in Ukrainian, because it is mobile and not always predictable.

It sounds mostly neutral-conversational and very natural.

Especially не те щоб... gives it a spoken, nuanced tone. It sounds like someone explaining their opinion carefully:

• It’s not that the strawberries are expensive; they’re just not ripe yet.

So this is the kind of structure you would hear in everyday speech, but it is also perfectly acceptable in writing unless the style is very formal.

A word-for-word guide is:

• Не = not
• те = that
• щоб = that / for / as if, depending on the idiom
• полуниця = strawberries / strawberry
• дорога = expensive
• але = but
• вона = it / she
• ще = yet / still
• не = not
• стигла = ripe / ripened

Very literal:

• Not that strawberry is expensive, but it still not ripe.

Natural English:

• It’s not that the strawberries are expensive, but they’re not ripe yet.

That difference between literal structure and natural translation is exactly the kind of thing learners should expect with idiomatic phrases like не те щоб and collective nouns like полуниця.