Nu este nimeni în birou, dar pe masă este o listă pentru mâine.

Yes. Este is the 3rd person singular of a fi (to be) and means is.

In this sentence, Romanian uses este in two ways that feel natural in English too:

• Nu este nimeni în birou = There is nobody in the office
• Pe masă este o listă = There is a list on the table

So even though English often uses there is, Romanian simply uses este.

Yes, Romanian normally uses negative concord, which means a negative word like nimeni (nobody) appears together with nu.

So:

• Nu este nimeni = There is nobody
• literally something like not is nobody

This is correct Romanian. Unlike standard English, where double negatives are usually avoided, Romanian requires this pattern.

Yes, absolutely. Nimeni nu este în birou is also correct.

Both are grammatical:

• Nu este nimeni în birou
• Nimeni nu este în birou

The difference is mostly one of emphasis and style:

• Nu este nimeni... sounds a bit more like There isn’t anybody...
• Nimeni nu este... puts more focus on nobody

Both are common.

Romanian usually does not need a separate word like English there in existential sentences.

English says:

• There is a list on the table

Romanian says:

• Pe masă este o listă

Romanian simply uses the verb to be plus the rest of the sentence. The idea of existence is understood from the structure.

Because în birou means in the office / inside the office room.

• în = in, inside
• birou = office or desk, depending on context

By contrast, la birou often means at the office / at work, not necessarily physically inside the room.

So:

• în birou = inside the office
• la birou = at the office, at work

In this sentence, în birou fits because it describes physical location.

Here, birou means office.

But birou can also mean desk in other contexts. Romanian uses the same word for both ideas, and context tells you which one is meant.

In this sentence, because we have nimeni în birou (nobody in the office), the meaning is clearly office.

Pe usually means on here.

So:

• pe masă = on the table

This is the normal Romanian way to express something resting on a surface.

A small grammar point: masă means table, and after the preposition pe, it appears without an article here:

• pe masă = on the table / on a table, depending on context

Romanian often leaves this kind of noun without an article in location expressions.

Both are possible, but they sound slightly different.

• Pe masă este o listă focuses first on the location: On the table, there is a list
• O listă este pe masă focuses more on the list itself: A list is on the table

Romanian word order is more flexible than English. In this sentence, putting pe masă first sounds natural because it introduces the setting or location before mentioning what is there.

In this sentence, the two parts are separate clauses joined by dar (but), so each clause has its own verb:

• Nu este nimeni în birou
• dar pe masă este o listă pentru mâine

Romanian normally keeps the verb in both clauses here. Omitting the second este would sound incomplete or unnatural.

Because o is the feminine singular indefinite article, equivalent to English a.

• o listă = a list

Listă is a feminine noun, so its indefinite article is o.

Compare:

• un birou = a desk / an office (masculine-neuter form)
• o listă = a list (feminine)

Because nouns in Romanian have grammatical gender, and listă belongs to the feminine class.

You can often see this from the article and from the noun ending:

• o listă
• plural: liste

Many nouns ending in -ă are feminine, though not all patterns are perfectly predictable.

Pentru mâine means for tomorrow.

So o listă pentru mâine is:

• a list for tomorrow
• a list intended for tomorrow
• tomorrow’s list, depending on context

Pentru often means for, and mâine means tomorrow.

Usually no, not in this sentence.

• pentru mâine usually means for tomorrow
• până mâine would usually mean by tomorrow / until tomorrow

So if you wanted the idea of a deadline, până mâine would be more likely.

Yes. In everyday Romanian, e is a very common shorter form of este.

So you could say:

• Nu e nimeni în birou, dar pe masă e o listă pentru mâine.

This sounds natural and conversational. Este is a little fuller or slightly more formal/neutral in writing.

Here, dar means but.

It connects two contrasting ideas:

• nobody is in the office
• but there is a list on the table

Most of the time, dar is translated as but, though in some contexts English might prefer yet or another connector depending on style.

A few useful points:

• ă in masă is a short central vowel, somewhat like the a in sofa
• â in mâine is a close central sound specific to Romanian
• î in în is pronounced the same as â; they are mostly spelling variants depending on position in the word

Approximate guides:

• în ≈ een but with a more central vowel
• masă ≈ MAH-suh
• mâine ≈ MUH-ee-neh or MUHY-neh as a rough guide

These are only approximations, but they can help at first.

Yes, it is natural and correct.

It sounds like normal Romanian and uses very common structures:

• negation with nu
• the negative pronoun nimeni
• location phrases like în birou and pe masă
• existential este
• time-related phrase pentru mâine

A more conversational version might use e instead of este, but the sentence as given is perfectly good Romanian.