# Basic syntax:
import pandas as pd
empty_dataframe = pd.DataFrame()

# Create empty dataframe with column names
empty_dataframe = pd.DataFrame(columns=['your', 'column', 'names'])

# Create empty dataframe with row names
empty_dataframe = pd.DataFrame(index=['your', 'row', 'names'])

newDF = pd.DataFrame() #creates a new dataframe that's empty
newDF = newDF.append(oldDF, ignore_index = True) # ignoring index is optional
# try printing some data from newDF
print newDF.head() #again optional 

df = pd.DataFrame(columns=['a', 'b', 'c'])

if df.empty:
  print('Your df is empty...')

>>> df_empty = pd.DataFrame({'A' : []})
>>> df_empty
Empty DataFrame
Columns: [A]
Index: []
>>> df_empty.empty
True