Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Pekan depan saya belajar di perpustakaan setiap malam. - Next week I will study at the library every night.

Indonesian usually does not need a separate future marker like will.
Time expressions (like pekan depan = next week) are enough to show that it’s future.

Pekan depan saya belajar di perpustakaan setiap malam.
Literally: Next week I study in the library every night.
In natural English: Next week I will study / I’m going to study at the library every night.

You may add akan for emphasis or clarity:

Pekan depan saya akan belajar di perpustakaan setiap malam.

Both are correct; the version without akan is very normal and not “incomplete” in Indonesian.

What’s the difference between pekan and minggu? Can I say minggu depan instead?

Both pekan and minggu mean week, and both can be used for “next week”:

pekan depan
minggu depan

Differences:

Pekan
- Slightly more formal or “standard” in some contexts.
- Common in news, written language, official announcements.
Minggu
- Very common in everyday speech.
- Also the word for Sunday (Hari Minggu).

In everyday conversation, minggu depan may be a bit more common, but pekan depan is perfectly natural and correct. The choice doesn’t change the meaning here.

Why is the word order “Pekan depan saya belajar …”? Can I put pekan depan at the end instead?

Indonesian allows flexible placement of time expressions. All of these are grammatical, with only slight differences in emphasis:

Pekan depan saya belajar di perpustakaan setiap malam.
– Time first, giving strong emphasis to “next week”.
Saya belajar di perpustakaan setiap malam pekan depan.
– Time comes at the end, like English “… every night next week.”
Saya pekan depan belajar di perpustakaan setiap malam.
– Less common style, but still possible.

The most natural are (1) and (2). Putting pekan depan at the beginning is very common and sounds natural, especially in spoken Indonesian.

What exactly does belajar mean here? Is it “study”, “learn”, or something else?

Belajar is a general verb meaning “to study / to learn”.

In this sentence:

saya belajar di perpustakaan
= I study at the library / I’ll be studying at the library

It does not specify what you are studying. It could be any subject (math, Indonesian, history, etc.).

If you want to be more specific:

Saya belajar bahasa Indonesia di perpustakaan.
I study Indonesian at the library.

The verb belajar can also be followed by a complement:

belajar memasak = learn to cook
belajar menyetir = learn to drive

Why do we use di before perpustakaan? What does di mean?

Di is a preposition meaning roughly “at / in / on” (a location marker).

di perpustakaan = at the library / in the library

Some notes:

di
- place = location
  - di rumah (at home)
  - di sekolah (at school)
  - di kantor (at the office)

You might also see:

di dalam perpustakaan = inside the library (more explicit “inside”)

In this sentence, di perpustakaan is enough and is the most natural choice.

Is there any difference between setiap malam and tiap malam?

Setiap and tiap have the same basic meaning: each / every.

setiap malam = every night
tiap malam = every night

Differences:

setiap
- Neutral, slightly more formal/standard.
tiap
- Slightly more colloquial, very common in speech.

In most contexts, they are interchangeable. In your sentence, both are fine:

Pekan depan saya belajar di perpustakaan setiap malam.
Pekan depan saya belajar di perpustakaan tiap malam.

Why is it setiap malam and not something like setiap malam hari? What’s the nuance?

Both setiap malam and setiap malam hari are used, but:

setiap malam
- Simpler, very common.
- Means every night.
setiap malam hari
- Slightly more emphatic or descriptive, like “every night-time”.
- Often sounds a bit more formal or literary, depending on context.

In everyday conversation, setiap malam is the usual choice, and that’s what you see in the sentence. The meaning difference is minimal; setiap malam is just shorter and more natural.

Can I drop saya and just say “Pekan depan belajar di perpustakaan setiap malam”?

You can drop saya in some contexts, but it depends on clarity.

Pekan depan saya belajar di perpustakaan setiap malam.
– Clear that I will study.
Pekan depan belajar di perpustakaan setiap malam.
– Grammatically possible, but now the subject is implicit. It might be understood as:
- I (if context is clear), or
- we, you, people in general, etc.

In written Indonesian for learners or in more formal contexts, it’s better to keep the pronoun:

saya (formal / neutral “I”)

Dropping the subject is common in casual speech only when it’s obvious from context who you’re talking about.

Could I use akan and say “Pekan depan saya akan belajar di perpustakaan setiap malam”? Is that more correct?

Yes, you can:

Pekan depan saya belajar di perpustakaan setiap malam.
Pekan depan saya akan belajar di perpustakaan setiap malam.

Both are correct.

Nuance:

Without akan:
- Very normal. Time expression pekan depan already shows “future”.
- Feels simple and natural.
With akan:
- Slightly more formal or explicit.
- Can feel like a planned or scheduled action.
- Often used in writing, announcements, or when you want to stress the future aspect.

Neither is “more correct”; it’s a stylistic choice.

Is saya the only word for “I”? Why not aku or gue here?

Indonesian has several words for “I”, with different levels of formality and regional flavor:

saya
- Polite, neutral, standard.
- Good for speaking with strangers, in class, in writing.
aku
- Less formal, more intimate/friendly.
- Used with friends, family, people your age or younger (depending on region).
gue / gua (Jakarta slang), aku / saya (elsewhere)
- Very informal; gue is strongly associated with Jakarta/Betawi style.

In your sentence, saya is a safe, neutral choice. You could say:

Pekan depan aku belajar di perpustakaan setiap malam.

That sounds more casual, like talking to a close friend.

How would I say “Next week I’m not studying at the library every night” in Indonesian?

To negate belajar, use tidak before the verb:

Pekan depan saya tidak belajar di perpustakaan setiap malam.
= Next week I will not study at the library every night.

In casual speech, tidak can be pronounced/written nggak / gak:

Pekan depan saya nggak belajar di perpustakaan setiap malam.
(very informal)

Key point: tidak goes before the verb:

saya tidak belajar = I don’t / won’t study

There’s no plural marker in malam. How does Indonesian show that it means “many nights” (every night)?

Indonesian usually doesn’t mark plural with a separate word like -s in English. Plurality is often shown by:

context
numbers
quantifiers like banyak (many), beberapa (several), setiap (every)

Here:

setiap malam
– setiap = each/every
– This automatically implies multiple nights.

So:

malam (night / nights)
setiap malam (every night → many nights across time)

You don’t need to change malam itself to show plural.

Could this sentence also mean “Next week I have classes at the library every night”, or is belajar only self-study?

Belajar focuses on the act of studying/learning, not on having a scheduled class.

Pekan depan saya belajar di perpustakaan setiap malam.
Most naturally:
- Next week I will study at the library every night.
- (self-study, doing homework, revising, etc.)

If you want to talk about having classes, you’d normally use:

kuliah (university-level lectures)
les (private lessons)
kursus (courses)

Examples:

Pekan depan saya les di perpustakaan setiap malam.
Next week I have (tutoring) lessons at the library every night.

So, the original sentence is understood as you going there to study, not necessarily to attend a formal class.