Breakdown of Мой календарь пустой, сегодня я ничего не делаю.
не
not
я
I
мой
my (мой, моя, моё) / mine
делать
to do
Questions & Answers about Мой календарь пустой, сегодня я ничего не делаю.
Why do we need не before делаю if we already have ничего?
In Russian, double negatives are required! When you use a negative word like ничего (nothing), you must still put не (not) right before the verb. Literally, it says 'today I nothing not do'.
Where is the word for 'is' in Мой календарь пустой?
In the present tense, Russian almost always drops the verb 'to be' (am/is/are). You just put the subject and the adjective together, so it literally translates to 'My calendar empty'.
Why does the г in сегодня sound like a 'v'?
The letter г is pronounced like a 'v' in the endings -его and -ого. The word сегодня (today) originally came from two words, 'сего дня' (of this day), so it keeps that special 'v' pronunciation.
Since календарь ends in a soft sign (-ь), how do we know its gender here?