После пары мы часто обсуждаем задания в коридоре, но сегодня мне хочется просто молчать.

После requires the genitive case, so пара becomes пары.

• dictionary form: пара
• after после: после пары

In this sentence, пара means a class period, lesson, or session (especially in a university context), not just a pair.

So после пары means after class / after the lesson.

Yes, пара often does mean pair, but in everyday Russian it can also mean a class period, especially at a college or university.

So depending on context:

• пара обуви = a pair of shoes
• у нас сегодня три пары = we have three class periods today

In your sentence, после пары clearly means after class.

Because the sentence is talking about a habitual action: something that usually happens.

• мы часто обсуждаем = we often discuss
• This is present tense, but in Russian the present tense is also used for regular repeated actions.

So the idea is:

• After class, we often discuss assignments in the hallway
• but today... something is different

The contrast with сегодня makes this especially natural.

Russian uses the imperfective aspect for repeated, ongoing, or habitual actions.

Here, the action is something people do often, so imperfective is the normal choice:

• обсуждать = to discuss, to be discussing, to discuss regularly
• обсуждаем = we discuss / we are discussing

If you used the perfective verb обсудить, it would suggest discussing something to completion, not a repeated habit. That would not fit as well with часто.

Задания is the plural accusative of задание.

Here it is the direct object of обсуждаем:

• обсуждаем что? → задания

For inanimate plural nouns, the accusative plural is usually the same as the nominative plural:

• nominative plural: задания
• accusative plural: задания

So although the form looks the same, its function here is object, not subject.

Because this sentence describes location, not motion.

• в коридоре = in the hallway / in the corridor → location
• в коридор = into the hallway → direction of movement

Here the meaning is that the discussions happen there, so Russian uses the prepositional case:

• коридор
• в коридоре

Both are possible in Russian, but they are not exactly the same.

• я хочу молчать = I want to be silent
• мне хочется молчать = I feel like being silent / I have the urge to be silent

Мне хочется is a very common impersonal construction. It often sounds:

• softer
• more emotional
• more spontaneous
• less direct than я хочу

Grammatically, it works like this:

• мне = to me / for me (dative)
• хочется = literally something like it is wanted / it feels desirable

So the phrase expresses a feeling that comes over the speaker, rather than a firm declared intention.

Because хочется is used in an impersonal construction.

Russian often expresses feelings and states with structures like:

• мне холодно = I am cold
• мне грустно = I am sad
• мне хочется спать = I feel like sleeping

In these expressions, the person experiencing the feeling is put in the dative case:

• я → nominative
• мне → dative

So мне хочется literally works like to me it feels desirable.

Because the construction is impersonal. There is no normal grammatical subject like я controlling the verb.

So Russian uses хочется in the 3rd person singular neuter-style impersonal form.

This is the standard pattern:

• мне хочется
• тебе хочется
• ему хочется
• нам хочется

Even though the person changes, хочется itself stays the same.

Because it depends on хочется.

In Russian, after verbs and expressions meaning want, like, can, need, etc., the next verb is often in the infinitive:

• хочу читать = I want to read
• люблю гулять = I like walking
• мне хочется молчать = I feel like being silent

So молчать means to be silent / to keep silent.

It can mean both, depending on context.

Common translations include:

• to be silent
• to keep silent
• to stay quiet
• not to speak

In this sentence, мне хочется просто молчать has the feeling of:

• I just feel like staying quiet
• I just want to say nothing

It sounds natural and slightly emotional.

Просто means simply or just.

In this sentence, it softens and colors the meaning:

• мне хочется молчать = I feel like being silent
• мне хочется просто молчать = I just feel like being silent

It suggests:

• no discussion
• no explanation
• no extra activity
• just silence

So it adds a natural conversational nuance.

Yes, Russian word order is flexible, but this order is very natural.

This version highlights the contrast:

• После пары мы часто обсуждаем задания в коридоре
• но сегодня ... = but today ...

Then:

• мне хочется introduces the speaker’s current feeling
• просто молчать comes at the end and gives the key emotional point

Other word orders are possible, for example:

• Но сегодня хочется мне просто молчать — possible, but marked or poetic
• Но сегодня просто хочется молчать — also natural, slightly less personal emphasis on мне
• Но сегодня я хочу просто молчать — grammatically fine, but different in nuance from мне хочется

So the original word order is standard and natural.

Yes. The sentence is built around a contrast between:

1. what usually happens
2. what is true today

That contrast is shown by:

• часто = often
• но сегодня = but today

So the overall structure is:

• Usually, after class, we often discuss assignments in the hallway
• but today, I just feel like keeping quiet

This kind of contrast is very common in Russian and helps make the sentence feel natural and expressive.