Mi turno empieza a mediodía.

My shift starts at midday.

Breakdown of Mi turno empieza a mediodía.

• mi: my
• el mediodía: the midday
• empezar: to start
• a: at
• el turno: the shift

Questions & Answers about Mi turno empieza a mediodía.

Does turno mean my work shift or my turn in a queue?

Both are possible. In Spain, turno commonly means a work shift. It can also mean “turn” in a sequence (e.g., Es mi turno = “It’s my turn”). In your sentence, Mi turno empieza a mediodía, context points to a work shift. If you want to be crystal clear, you can say mi turno de trabajo. For on-call shifts (doctors, police, etc.), Spaniards also use guardia (e.g., Tengo guardia).

Why is it mi and not mío?

Mi (no accent) is the unstressed possessive adjective used before a noun: mi turno.
Mío (with accent) is the stressed possessive pronoun/adjective: El turno es mío (“The shift is mine”).
Note also mí (with accent) is the pronoun “me” after prepositions: para mí.

Why empieza and not empiezo?

The subject is mi turno (third-person singular), so the verb must be third-person: empieza. If you make yourself the subject, you’d say Yo empiezo mi turno a mediodía.

Is empezar irregular? How do I conjugate it?

Yes. Empezar is a stem‑changing verb (e → ie) in the present, and the z changes to c before e in the preterite yo form:

• Present: empiezo, empiezas, empieza, empezamos, empezáis, empiezan
• Preterite (yo): empecé, then: empezaste, empezó, etc.

Can I use comienza instead of empieza? What about inicia?

Yes. Comenzar is a near-synonym of empezar; Mi turno comienza a mediodía sounds slightly more formal but is very common. Iniciar is also possible (se inicia is frequent in formal writing), but empezar/comenzar are the default choices in everyday speech.

Why a mediodía and not al mediodía? Are both correct?

Both are correct:

• a mediodía treats mediodía as an adverbial time expression (“at midday”).
• al mediodía = a + el mediodía (“at the midday/noon”). In practice, they mean the same here. If you use the article explicitly (el), you must contract: a + el = al (never a el).

Is mediodía exactly noon or more like lunchtime in Spain?

Literally, mediodía is noon (12:00). In everyday Spanish (Spain), al mediodía can also loosely mean “around lunchtime,” which is often 14:00. If you need precision, say a las doce or a las 12 del mediodía.

Is it mediodía or medio día? Why the accent?

It’s one word: mediodía. Two words (medio día) means “half a day.” The accent on -dí- marks the stressed syllable and the hiatus: me-dio-dí-a.
Compare: medianoche (midnight) is one word without an accent.

Could I say en mediodía or por mediodía?

Not for clock time. For “at noon,” use a mediodía / al mediodía or a las doce. For vaguer time-of-day expressions you typically use:

• por la mañana / tarde / noche
• but not “por el mediodía” in standard usage; say a mediodía, sobre mediodía, or hacia mediodía.

Can I just use the time instead of mediodía?

Yes: Mi turno empieza a las doce or a las 12 del mediodía. That’s often clearer if you mean exactly 12:00.

Is the word order flexible?

Yes. You can front the time for emphasis: A mediodía empieza mi turno. Both orders are correct; moving the time to the front highlights when it happens.

How do I ask or negate this sentence?

• Question: ¿Tu turno empieza a mediodía?
• Negation: Mi turno no empieza a mediodía, sino a las dos.
  Remember the opening inverted question/exclamation marks in Spanish.

Does the present tense here mean a habitual schedule or a specific future time?

Both are possible. Spanish present often covers habitual actions and near-future scheduled events. Context decides:

• Habitual: “My shift usually starts at noon.”
• Specific future: “Today my shift starts at noon.”

What’s the difference between turno, horario, and jornada?

• turno: a specific shift (e.g., morning, evening, night).
• horario: your schedule/timetable (the set of hours you work).
• jornada: the workday or length of the working day (e.g., jornada completa = full-time, media jornada = part-time).
  Also note: in Spain, appointment is cita, not “turno” (though turno can mean appointment in some Latin American countries).

Can I use desde to express the start time?

Yes, but the structure changes and you include the article: Trabajo desde el mediodía hasta las ocho. With desde, you normally pair it with hasta to mark the end point.

Any pronunciation tips for Spain?

• empieza: the z is pronounced like the English “th” in “think” in most of Spain: [emˈpjeθa].
• turno: single r is a quick tap
• mediodía: stress on -dí-: [meðjoˈði.a].