Semester baru akan bermula minggu depan, dan saya masih perlu beli beberapa buku.

In this sentence, semester baru means new semester.

In Malay, adjectives often come after the noun, so:

• semester baru = new semester
• literally: semester new

The word baru can mean different things depending on context:

• baru after a noun often means new
• baru in other contexts can mean just or only then

Here, because it directly follows semester, it is understood as new.

Akan marks something that is expected to happen in the future.

So:

• akan bermula = will begin / is going to begin

The sentence could often still be understood without akan, because time words like minggu depan already show the future. But adding akan makes the future meaning clearer and more explicit.

Compare:

• Semester baru bermula minggu depan = The new semester begins next week
• Semester baru akan bermula minggu depan = The new semester will begin next week

Both are natural, but akan highlights the future.

Both mula and bermula relate to starting, but bermula is very common when something begins.

• mula can mean start or begin
• bermula often functions like to begin / to start

In this sentence:

• Semester baru akan bermula = The new semester will begin

This sounds natural because the semester itself is the thing beginning.

Very roughly:

• mula can sometimes sound more general or more like the base word
• bermula is a common verb form for events or periods beginning

Minggu depan means next week.

Literally:

• minggu = week
• depan = front / ahead

So the idea is the week ahead.

This is a very common Malay pattern:

• tahun depan = next year
• bulan depan = next month
• hari depan is less common in everyday speech for tomorrow, because esok is normally used

Yes, dan means and.

It joins two clauses:

• Semester baru akan bermula minggu depan
• saya masih perlu beli beberapa buku

So the sentence structure is:

• [first idea], dan [second idea]

This works very much like English and.

Masih means still.

So:

• saya masih perlu... = I still need to...

It shows that something has not been done yet and remains necessary.

Compare:

• Saya perlu beli beberapa buku = I need to buy some books
• Saya masih perlu beli beberapa buku = I still need to buy some books

The second one suggests the speaker has not finished their preparations.

Both can be correct, but perlu beli is very natural in everyday Malay.

• perlu = need / need to
• beli = buy

So:

• perlu beli = need to buy

Malay often uses the bare verb after words like perlu, mahu, boleh, or hendak.

Examples:

• Saya mahu makan = I want to eat
• Dia boleh datang = He/She can come
• Kami perlu belajar = We need to study

You may also see membeli in more formal styles:

• saya masih perlu membeli beberapa buku

That is also correct, but beli sounds simpler and more conversational here.

This is a very common learner question. In Malay, verbs do not always need a prefix.

The root verb is:

• beli = buy

The prefixed form is:

• membeli = to buy

After modal-like or auxiliary words such as perlu, Malay very often keeps the verb in its simpler root form:

• perlu beli
• mahu beli
• boleh beli

This is normal and natural.

Using membeli is possible in some contexts, especially in more formal writing, but in everyday speech beli is extremely common.

Beberapa means several or a few.

So:

• beberapa buku = several books / a few books

It refers to an unspecified small number.

Comparison:

• beberapa buku = several books
• banyak buku = many books
• sesetengah buku = some books in the sense of certain books or some of the books, not just an indefinite quantity

So in this sentence, beberapa is the best choice because the speaker means they need to buy a number of books, but does not specify exactly how many.

Malay does not need a separate word equivalent to English to before a verb in this kind of structure.

English:

• I need to buy

Malay:

• saya perlu beli

So the pattern is simply:

• subject + perlu + verb

This is one reason Malay often feels more compact than English.

Yes. Malay pronouns do not change form the way English pronouns do.

So saya can correspond to:

• I
• me

depending on its role in the sentence.

In this sentence:

• saya masih perlu beli beberapa buku = I still need to buy several books

Here saya is the subject, so it translates as I.

Yes. In Malay, quantity words like beberapa usually come before the noun.

So:

• beberapa buku = several books

This is different from adjectives like baru, which usually come after the noun:

• semester baru = new semester

So a useful contrast is:

• beberapa buku = quantity word before noun
• semester baru = adjective after noun

Yes. Even if the basic meaning is fixed, there are several natural English versions, for example:

• The new semester will start next week, and I still need to buy a few books.
• The new semester is starting next week, and I still need to buy several books.
• The new semester begins next week, and I still have to buy some books.

That is normal. Malay and English do not always match word-for-word, so one Malay sentence can have several good English translations.