Learn Hardcore Malay: Selepas daftar kursus, kami lihat jadual di kalendar universiti untuk bulan ini. - After registering for the course, we look at the schedule on the university calendar for this month.

selepas
- Slightly more formal or neutral.
- Common in writing, formal speech, and in schools.
lepas
- More casual/colloquial.
- Very common in everyday conversation.

So you can say:

Selepas daftar kursus, kami lihat jadual… (more neutral/formal)
Lepas daftar kursus, kami lihat jadual… (more casual)

Both are correct; the difference is mainly in formality, not meaning.

Why is it selepas daftar kursus and not selepas mendaftar kursus? What’s the difference between daftar and mendaftar?

Both daftar and mendaftar can function as to register.

mendaftar
- The meN- form (more obviously a verb).
- Often feels slightly more formal or standard.
- Example: Selepas mendaftar kursus, kami lihat jadual…
daftar
- The root form.
- Can be a noun (a list/register) or a verb (to register).
- In everyday Malay, people very often use the root verb after selepas/lepas:
  - Lepas makan, kami balik. (After eating, we went home.)
  - Lepas daftar kursus, kami lihat jadual.

In this sentence, selepas daftar kursus is fully acceptable and very natural.
Selepas mendaftar kursus is also correct and just a bit more formal/explicitly verbal.

Do I need untuk after daftar? What’s the difference between daftar kursus and daftar untuk kursus?

Both are possible, but they feel slightly different:

daftar kursus
- Treats kursus as the direct object = register courses / register for courses.
- Very common and natural:
  - Saya nak daftar kursus baru. (I want to register a new course / register for a new course.)
daftar untuk kursus
- Adds untuk (for), more literally register for a course.
- Also correct, but daftar kursus is shorter and more typical in everyday usage.

So in your sentence, selepas daftar kursus sounds perfectly normal and you don’t need untuk there.

Is the comma after Selepas daftar kursus necessary? How does this clause work in Malay?

The structure is:

Selepas daftar kursus, → time clause (After registering for courses, …)
kami lihat jadual … → main clause

Using a comma after an initial time clause is standard and makes the sentence easier to read.
You may see it written without a comma in informal contexts:

Selepas daftar kursus kami lihat jadual di kalendar universiti untuk bulan ini.

It’s still grammatical. The comma is a punctuation choice for clarity, not a grammar requirement. The selepas… part is a subordinate time clause, just like English After we registered….

There’s no past tense marker like did or have. How do we know it’s in the past? Can we add something like sudah or telah?

Malay normally does not change the verb form for tense. Time is understood from:

context
time expressions (like selepas, semalam, nanti, esok)

Here, selepas (after) already suggests a past sequence, so no extra marker is needed.

If you want to be explicit about the past, you can add:

Selepas (kami) sudah daftar kursus, kami lihat jadual…
Selepas (kami) telah daftar kursus, kami lihat jadual…

sudah and telah both roughly mean already / have done, with telah sounding more formal. But in natural conversation, your original sentence without them is completely fine.

What is the difference between kami lihat and kami melihat? Which is more natural here?

Both are grammatically correct:

kami lihat jadual
- Uses the root verb lihat.
- Short, common in speech and in many written styles.
- Feels neutral and natural here.
kami melihat jadual
- Uses the meN- verb melihat.
- Often a bit more formal or careful.
- Common in formal writing, school essays, news, etc.

In this specific sentence, both:

Selepas daftar kursus, kami lihat jadual…
Selepas daftar kursus, kami melihat jadual…

sound fine. The version with melihat just feels a touch more formal or written; lihat is very normal in everyday use.

Why is it di kalendar universiti? Could I say dalam kalendar universiti or pada kalendar universiti instead?

All three prepositions are possible, but they differ slightly:

di kalendar universiti
- di = at / on / in (location)
- Treats the calendar as a kind of place where the schedule is located.
- Very natural: lihat jadual di kalendar universiti.
dalam kalendar universiti
- dalam = inside / in
- Focuses more on the idea that the schedule is inside the contents of the calendar.
- Also acceptable: lihat jadual dalam kalendar universiti.
pada kalendar universiti
- pada is more formal, used for on/at in some contexts (time, abstract things, etc.).
- pada kalendar is possible but sounds more formal or slightly unusual in casual speech; di or dalam are more common here.

Most natural everyday choices here: di kalendar universiti or dalam kalendar universiti, with di probably the most common.

What does untuk bulan ini do exactly? Could I say pada bulan ini or just bulan ini?

All are possible, with subtle differences:

untuk bulan ini
- Literally for this month.
- Emphasizes that the schedule is the one that applies for this month:
  - jadual … untuk bulan ini = the schedule for this month
pada bulan ini
- Literally in this month / during this month.
- More often used for events happening in that month:
  - Banyak program akan diadakan pada bulan ini. (Many programs will be held this month.)
- jadual pada bulan ini is possible, but untuk usually sounds more natural with schedule.
bulan ini (alone)
- You can also say:
  - … jadual di kalendar universiti bulan ini.
- Here bulan ini directly modifies kalendar universiti or jadual, depending on word order. Context will disambiguate.

Your original untuk bulan ini is clear and very natural for the schedule for this month.

What exactly does jadual mean here? Is it like schedule, timetable, or calendar?

Jadual on its own generally means schedule / timetable.

In this sentence:
- jadual di kalendar universiti → the schedule shown in the university calendar.

Common collocations:

jadual waktu = timetable (especially class timetable)
jadual peperiksaan = exam timetable
jadual kuliah = lecture schedule
jadual penerbangan = flight schedule

kalendar is the calendar itself; jadual is the specific schedule/timetable listed there.

There’s no plural marker like -s. How do we know if kursus is singular or plural? Do we ever say kursus-kursus?

Malay normally does not mark plural on nouns unless it’s needed for emphasis or clarity.

kursus can mean a course or courses, depending on context.
Here, daftar kursus naturally reads as register (for) courses in general (could be one or several).

You can mark explicit plural with reduplication:

kursus-kursus = courses (plural, emphasised)
- e.g. Saya berminat dengan kursus-kursus sains. (I’m interested in science courses.)

But in everyday language, most people would just say kursus and let context tell you whether it’s singular or plural.

Can the subject kami be dropped in this sentence, like in some other languages?

Yes, Malay can drop pronouns when they are clear from context, especially in speech.

Full form:
- Selepas daftar kursus, kami lihat jadual di kalendar universiti untuk bulan ini.
Possible in conversation:
- Lepas daftar kursus, tengok jadual di kalendar universiti untuk bulan ni.

In the second version:

kami is understood from context (e.g. you’re talking to a friend who was there with you).
The verb tengok replaces lihat (more colloquial).
bulan ni replaces bulan ini (colloquial pronunciation).

In more formal writing or when you need clarity, it’s safer to keep kami. In casual speech, dropping it is very common if the subject is obvious.