Dacă lipsește și profesoara, discutăm singuri până vine.

Dacă means if.

It introduces a condition: If the teacher is absent too, we’ll talk by ourselves until she comes.

Romanian uses dacă very much like English if in ordinary real-life conditions.

Lipsește comes from the verb a lipsi.

In this sentence, it means is absent or is missing / doesn’t show up. So Dacă lipsește și profesoara means If the teacher is absent too.

Depending on context, a lipsi can mean:

• to be absent
• to be missing
• to lack

Here, is absent is the most natural interpretation.

Here și means also or too.

So Dacă lipsește și profesoara suggests that someone else is already absent, and now the teacher may be absent as well.

It adds the idea:

• If the teacher is absent too...
• If even the teacher is absent... in some contexts

So și is not just plain and here; it has the sense of also/too.

Profesoara is the teacher.

Romanian often puts the definite article at the end of the noun instead of using a separate word like English the.

So:

• profesoară = a teacher
• profesoara = the teacher

This ending -a is the definite article attached to the noun.

Romanian often leaves out subject pronouns because the verb ending already shows who is doing the action.

Discutăm means we discuss / we are discussing / we’ll discuss, depending on context.

The ending -ăm tells you the subject is we, so noi is not necessary.

You could say noi discutăm, but that would usually add emphasis:

• Noi discutăm = we are the ones who will talk

Without noi, the sentence sounds more neutral and natural.

Romanian often uses the present tense for future situations when the future meaning is clear from context.

So:

• Dacă lipsește și profesoara, discutăm singuri...

can naturally mean:

• If the teacher is absent too, we’ll talk by ourselves...

This is common in Romanian, especially in conditions and time clauses. English does something similar in part:

• If she comes, we start. Even though it refers to the future, both verbs can appear in the present form.

Singuri means alone, by ourselves, or just among ourselves.

It is the masculine plural form, used because the speaker is referring to a group. In many mixed or unspecified groups, Romanian uses the masculine plural form.

So discutăm singuri means:

• we’ll talk by ourselves
• we’ll discuss on our own

It does not necessarily mean each person is physically alone; it means without the teacher.

Because singuri agrees with the people being described.

Romanian adjectives change form depending on gender and number.

Here the implied subject is we, and if the group is masculine or mixed, the correct form is singuri.

Common forms are:

• singur = masculine singular
• singură = feminine singular
• singuri = masculine plural / mixed plural
• singure = feminine plural

So if a group of only females were speaking, they might say discutăm singure.

After până meaning until, Romanian very often uses the present tense even when the meaning is future.

So:

• până vine = until she comes

This is very normal Romanian.

Using va veni is possible in some contexts, but here până vine is the most natural everyday phrasing.

English works similarly:

• We’ll wait until she comes not usually
• We’ll wait until she will come

The subject of vine is understood to be profesoara.

So the full idea is:

• ...until the teacher comes

Romanian often omits subject pronouns when they are clear from context, so there is no need to add ea here.

If you said până vine ea, that would add emphasis, like:

• ...until she herself comes

But in a normal sentence, just până vine is enough.

Yes, Romanian word order is fairly flexible, but different orders can change emphasis.

The original:

• Dacă lipsește și profesoara, discutăm singuri până vine.

is natural and neutral.

You could also hear:

• Dacă și profesoara lipsește, discutăm singuri până vine.

This puts slightly more focus on și profesoara.

The original version sounds very natural in conversation, especially when the speaker is adding the teacher to a list of people who may already be absent.

Not exactly in the same way.

In Romanian, a discuta can mean:

• to discuss
• to talk
• to chat things over

In this sentence, discutăm singuri sounds more like:

• we’ll talk among ourselves
• we’ll discuss things on our own

So although discuss is a possible translation, the natural English meaning here is often closer to talk among ourselves.