How to Say ‘She had to work a shift’ in Mexican Spanish
Le tocó guardia
leh toh-KOH GWAR-dyah
[leh toh-KOH GWAR-dyah]
💬 Usage Tip: tocar usually means "to touch", but le tocó means something fell to someone as their turn or lot. Same pattern: Me toca a mí "it's my turn".
Phrase Breakdown
Le
[leh]
To him/her
'Le' is an indirect object pronoun referring to a third person singular.
Le he entregado el paquete.
I have delivered the package to him/her.
tocó
[toh-KOH]
it fell to (him/her)
Past of 'tocar'; with 'le' it means it was someone's turn or duty.
Me tocó lavar los platos.
It was my turn to wash the dishes.
guardia
[GWAR-dyah]
shift / duty
A work shift, especially an on-call or night shift.
Tiene guardia esta noche.
She has a shift tonight.
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