Pesta buku bermula esok.

In Malay, the main noun usually comes first, and the word that describes it comes after.

So in pesta buku:

• pesta = the main thing, festival/fair
• buku = tells you what kind of festival/fair it is

So pesta buku literally follows the pattern festival book, but in natural English we say book fair or book festival.

This noun order is very common in Malay:

• kedai buku = bookshop
• bilik tidur = bedroom
• bas sekolah = school bus

Bermula means to begin or to start.

In this sentence, it is the verb: it tells you what the book fair does.

A useful point:

• bermula = to begin / to start (intransitive; the event starts)
• memulakan = to start something (transitive; someone starts it)

Compare:

• Pesta buku bermula esok. = The book fair starts tomorrow.
• Mereka memulakan pesta buku esok. = They start the book fair tomorrow.

So bermula focuses on the event itself beginning.

Malay usually does not use articles like a, an, or the.

So pesta buku can mean:

• a book fair
• the book fair

The exact meaning depends on context.

In a real conversation, if both speakers already know which event is being discussed, pesta buku would naturally be understood as the book fair.

Malay verbs do not change form for tense the way English verbs do.

So bermula does not itself mean specifically:

• started
• starts
• will start

Instead, Malay often shows time with time words like:

• esok = tomorrow
• semalam = yesterday
• sekarang = now
• nanti = later

Because this sentence has esok, we understand that the event starts in the future.

Yes, absolutely.

Akan is a future marker, so:

• Pesta buku bermula esok = The book fair starts tomorrow.
• Pesta buku akan bermula esok = The book fair will start tomorrow.

Both are correct.

The version without akan is already clear because esok tells you the time. Malay often leaves out akan when the future is obvious from context.

Using akan can make the future meaning feel a bit more explicit.

Often, yes.

Both mula and bermula can be used to talk about beginning, but bermula can sound a little more formal, complete, or written in some contexts.

So you may see both:

• Pesta buku bermula esok.
• Pesta buku mula esok.

Both can be understood, but bermula is a very natural choice in announcements, news, notices, and formal writing.

Yes. Malay word order is fairly flexible, especially with time expressions.

You can say:

• Pesta buku bermula esok.
• Esok, pesta buku bermula.

Both are natural.

Putting esok at the beginning gives a little more emphasis to when it happens.

Because bermula is already the main verb.

In English, the sentence is The book fair starts tomorrow, and the main verb is starts. There is no is there either.

So in Malay:

• pesta buku = subject
• bermula = verb
• esok = time expression

Malay does sometimes omit a verb like to be in other kinds of sentences too, but in this sentence the structure is straightforward because bermula is a normal verb.

Usually, yes.

Pesta can mean festival, fair, or a festive event, depending on context. So pesta buku is often translated as:

• book fair
• book festival

In many everyday situations, book fair is probably the most natural English translation.

A simple pronunciation guide is:

pes-ta bu-ku ber-mu-la e-sok

A rough English-friendly approximation:

• pesta → PESS-tah
• buku → BOO-koo
• bermula → ber-MOO-lah
• esok → eh-SOK

A few helpful notes:

• Malay pronunciation is generally quite regular.
• Each vowel is usually pronounced clearly.
• The r in bermula is typically lightly rolled or tapped, depending on the speaker.

No. Because of esok, the sentence clearly points to tomorrow, so it refers to a future event.

A phrase like has started would conflict with tomorrow in normal meaning.

So the natural reading is simply:

• The book fair starts tomorrow
• The book fair will begin tomorrow

Context and time words are very important in Malay for interpreting tense.

Yes. The prefix ber- often forms verbs that describe a state, action, or having/using something, depending on the word.

In bermula, it helps form the verb to begin / to start.

For a beginner, the most useful thing is not to over-analyze every ber- word at first. It is often best to learn common words as complete vocabulary items:

• bermula = begin
• berjalan = walk / go on / function
• bercakap = speak
• bermain = play

Later, you can study the broader patterns of ber- in more detail.