Learn Hardcore Spanish (Spain): En la sala, al mediodía, todo queda muy claro cuando entra el sol. - In the living room, at midday, everything becomes very bright when the sun comes in.

It’s the mandatory contraction of a + el. So al mediodía = “at the midday/noon.” You can’t say a el mediodía. The contraction does not happen when El is part of a proper name (e.g., a El Salvador), but here el is just the article.

Is there any difference between a mediodía and al mediodía?

Both are correct and common in Spain. The nuance is minimal:

a mediodía: slightly more adverbial and general (“at midday”).
al mediodía: a bit more specific or emphatic (“at the midday”). For “around noon,” use sobre (el) mediodía or hacia (el) mediodía.

Why does mediodía have an accent and why is it one word?

mediodía is a compound of medio
- día. The word día always carries an accent on the í, and that is preserved: mediodía.
One word: it means “midday/noon.”
Two words (medio día) means “half a day.” Example: Trabajé medio día (“I worked half a day”).

Is En la sala the same as En el salón in Spain?

Not exactly:

salón is the most usual word for “living room” in Spain.
sala is more generic (“room” or “hall”), or used in set phrases like sala de estar (living room). If you specifically mean the living room, en el salón is the most natural in Spain.

Why use queda instead of está in todo queda muy claro?

quedar + adjective highlights a resulting state caused by something (here, the sun entering). It’s like “ends up/becomes/remains.”

Todo queda muy claro: it gets/remains very bright (as a result).
Todo está muy claro: simply describes the state (it is very bright), with less sense of result. Both can be correct; the sentence chooses the resultative nuance.

Why is it queda (singular) and not quedan?

Because the subject is todo (“everything”), which is grammatically singular. If the subject were plural, e.g., todas las cosas, you’d use quedan.

Does claro here mean “clear” or “bright”?

In this context it means “bright/well-lit.” claro can mean:

“bright/light” (opposite of dark): una habitación clara.
“clear/obvious”: todo queda claro (“everything is clear/understood”). The mention of the sun entering makes the “bright” meaning the intended one.

Why muy and not mucho in muy claro?

Because muy modifies adjectives and adverbs (e.g., muy claro, muy bien). mucho modifies nouns (mucho sol) and verbs (llueve mucho). So mucho claro is incorrect.

Why is it entra and not entre in cuando entra el sol?

entra is the present indicative used for general, habitual facts (“when the sun comes in [it usually happens]”). Use the subjunctive entre after cuando when referring to a future event:

Habitual: Todo queda muy claro cuando entra el sol.
Future: Todo quedará muy claro cuando entre el sol.

Why use the article in el sol? And should sol be capitalized?

Spanish uses definite articles more broadly with generic nouns: el sol, la luna, el agua. It’s usually lowercase (el sol). Capitalize (el Sol) mainly in astronomical or more technical contexts; everyday writing uses lowercase.

Is entra el sol the same as sale el sol?

No.

entra el sol = sunlight comes into a place (through a window, etc.).
sale el sol = the sun rises (appears over the horizon). Different ideas.

Could I say cuando entra la luz instead of cuando entra el sol?

Yes. Both are idiomatic:

cuando entra el sol evokes direct sunlight beams.
cuando entra la luz emphasizes light in general. You can also say cuando entra el sol por la ventana for clarity.

Are the commas correct in En la sala, al mediodía, todo queda muy claro cuando entra el sol?

Yes. The initial adverbials (En la sala, al mediodía) are set off by commas. There’s no comma before the cuando clause because it’s an integral time clause: …todo queda muy claro cuando entra el sol (no comma needed).

Can I change the word order?

Yes. Spanish is flexible with adverbials:

Al mediodía, en la sala, todo queda muy claro cuando entra el sol.
Todo queda muy claro en la sala, al mediodía, cuando entra el sol. Moving these around is fine; keep commas to avoid ambiguity and to improve rhythm.

What’s the best way to say “around noon”?

Use:

sobre (el) mediodía
hacia (el) mediodía
alrededor del mediodía por (el) mediodía is much less common in Spain for this meaning; prefer the options above.

What’s the difference between quedar and quedarse here?

quedar + adj. = end up/be/turn out (result state): La sala queda muy clara.
quedarse + adj. often marks an abrupt or lasting state (“to be left”): La ciudad se quedó a oscuras. For lighting in a room, the non-reflexive quedar is the natural choice. Se queda muy clara would sound odd here.

Does todo mean “everyone” here?

No. todo is “everything” (things, in general). “Everyone” is todos (people) or todos/todas + noun: todos quedan…, todas las personas…. With todo, adjectives go in masculine singular: todo queda claro.

Should claro agree with todo or with sala?

With the subject actually used. In todo queda muy claro, the subject is todo (masc. sg.), so claro is masculine singular. If the subject were la sala, you’d say: La sala queda muy clara.

Could I say porque entra el sol instead of cuando entra el sol?

You can, but it changes the focus:

cuando = time: “when the sun comes in.”
porque = cause: “because the sun comes in.” Both are logical; choose based on what you want to emphasize.

Is there any ambiguity in queda?

On its own, quedar can also mean “to be located” (La oficina queda cerca). Here, quedar + muy claro clearly means “ends up/is (left) very bright,” so context removes ambiguity.