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La lezione inizia a mezzogiorno e mezzo.

La lezione inizia a mezzogiorno e mezzo.
The lesson starts at half past noon.
From Lesson 52:Telling time (sono le...)·Italian

Breakdown of La lezione inizia a mezzogiorno e mezzo.

e
and
iniziare
to start
la lezione
the lesson
a
to / at
mezzo
half
il mezzogiorno
noon

Questions & Answers about La lezione inizia a mezzogiorno e mezzo.

Why do we use a instead of alle before mezzogiorno?
When talking about standard hours, we use alle (like alle due for 'at two o'clock') because standard hours are plural and feminine. However, mezzogiorno (noon) and mezzanotte (midnight) are singular words, so they simply take the preposition a (at) without the word 'the' attached.
Why is it e mezzo here? I thought 'half past' was e mezza.
When saying 'half past' a numbered hour, you usually hear e mezza because it is short for 'and a half hour' (matching the feminine word ora). But since mezzogiorno is a masculine word, we use the masculine e mezzo to match it.
How would I ask the question 'At what time does the lesson start?'
You would ask, A che ora inizia la lezione? which literally means 'At what hour starts the lesson?'. Notice how the answer uses the same preposition a that you use in the question.
What is the dictionary form of the verb inizia?
The dictionary form (the infinitive) is iniziare (to start or to begin). It ends in -a in this sentence because it is in the 'he/she/it' form, matching the singular subject la lezione (the lesson).

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