Buksan mo ang telebisyon sa sala; malapit nang magsimula ang pelikula.

Here it means turn on.

The basic idea of bukas / buksan is open, but Filipino often uses it for devices and appliances too. So:

• Buksan mo ang pinto = Open the door.
• Buksan mo ang telebisyon = Turn on the television.

So in this sentence, buksan is the natural way to say turn on the TV.

Buksan is the verb form being used in the command.

A helpful way to think of it is:

• bukas = the root idea open
• buksan = open it / open something / turn something on

The -an ending is part of a verb pattern that focuses on the thing affected by the action. In this sentence, the affected thing is ang telebisyon.

Mo means you.

More specifically, it is the form of you used here to mark the doer of the action. So:

• Buksan mo = Open it / Turn it on, you
• more naturally in English: Turn on ...

Filipino often places short pronouns like mo after the verb, so Buksan mo is normal word order.

Because ang telebisyon is the thing being focused on in this verb pattern.

In buksan mo ang telebisyon:

• mo = the person doing the action
• ang telebisyon = the thing being opened/turned on

So ang is marking the noun that the verb is centered on in this sentence.

This is one of the big differences from English: Filipino uses markers like ang, ng, and sa to show how nouns relate to the verb.

Sa sala means in the living room.

• sa = a location marker that can mean in, at, on, to, depending on context
• sala = living room

So ang telebisyon sa sala means the television in the living room.

Yes, here sala definitely means living room.

That is a very common meaning in everyday Filipino. There is also another sala that can mean fault, guilt, or mistake in certain formal or legal/religious contexts, but that is not what is happening here.

In this sentence, sa sala clearly means in the living room.

Malapit nang means about to or soon.

Literally:

• malapit = near / close
• malapit nang magsimula = close to starting

So:

• malapit nang magsimula ang pelikula = the movie is about to start

This is a very common Filipino pattern for saying that something will happen very soon.

Here, nang is part of the pattern that links malapit na to the following verb.

A simple learner-friendly way to understand it is:

• malapit na = already near / almost time
• before the next word, it becomes malapit nang ...

So:

• malapit nang umulan = it’s about to rain
• malapit nang magsimula = it’s about to start

This nang is not the same as the ng noun marker in phrases like ng pelikula.

Magsimula means to start or to begin.

It comes from simula, which is connected with beginning or start.

The prefix mag- is a very common verb prefix in Filipino. In many cases, it creates a verb where the subject is the one doing the action. So:

• magsimula ang pelikula = the movie starts / the movie will start

Here, the movie is treated as the one that starts.

Because in magsimula ang pelikula, ang pelikula is the subject/topic of the clause.

The structure is:

• malapit nang magsimula = is about to start
• ang pelikula = the movie

So the movie is the thing that is about to start, which is why it is marked with ang.

If you are used to English, it may help to mentally reorder it as:

• Ang pelikula ay malapit nang magsimula
• literally: The movie is about to start

Both mean the same thing, but the original sentence uses a very natural Filipino predicate-first order.

Yes, this word order is completely normal.

Filipino very often uses predicate-first or verb-first order. That is why you get:

• Buksan mo ang telebisyon sa sala
• malapit nang magsimula ang pelikula

instead of a more English-like order.

A rough English-style reordering would be:

• Ikaw, buksan mo ang telebisyon sa sala
• Ang pelikula ay malapit nang magsimula

But the original version sounds more natural in ordinary Filipino.

Yes. A very conversational version might be:

• Buksan mo yung TV sa sala, malapit nang magsimula yung pelikula.
• or I-on mo yung TV sa sala, malapit nang magsimula yung pelikula.

Notes:

• yung is a very common casual form in speech
• TV is often used instead of telebisyon
• I-on mo is also common in everyday speech for turn it on

But the original sentence, Buksan mo ang telebisyon sa sala; malapit nang magsimula ang pelikula, is correct and natural, especially in standard written Filipino.