Breakdown of A aula começa ao meio-dia.
ao
to the / at the (m.sg; f.sg à, m.pl aos, f.pl às)
o meio-dia
the noon
começar
to begin
a aula
the class
Questions & Answers about A aula começa ao meio-dia.
How would I ask "At what time does the class start?" based on this sentence?
Why does the sentence use ao instead of just a before meio-dia?
In Portuguese, telling time usually requires the word for "the". The preposition a (at) combines with the masculine word o (the) to make ao. You are literally saying "at the midday".
Is aula the only word for "class"?
It is the best word for a lesson or a period of instruction, which fits this sentence perfectly. You might also see the word classe, but that usually refers to the group of students themselves, not the scheduled event.
What is the dictionary form of começa?
The dictionary form (infinitive) is começar (to start or to begin). It is conjugated as começa here because a aula (the class) acts as a singular "it".