How long does it take to get there? asks about time needed. Answer with It takes ... (to do something), and add the person: It took me two hours to walk home.
A How long does it take ... ?
How long does it take ... ? asks how much time something needs.
| How long does it take | by train from London to York? |
| How long did it take | to get there? |
| How long will it take | to repair the car? |
- How long does it take by coach from Leeds to Newcastle? About two and a half hours.
- How long does it take to get from here to the city centre?
- How long will it take to fix the boiler?
B It takes ... to do something
Answer with It takes (present), It took (past) or It will take (future) + time + to do something.
- It takes two and a half hours by coach from Leeds to Newcastle.
- It takes years to get good at the piano.
- It took ages to find a parking space.
- It won't take long to tidy up.
C It takes me ... to do something
Put the person after take: It takes me, It took her, How long did it take you ... ?
- It takes me twenty minutes to walk to work.
- It took us an hour to do the shopping.
- How long did it take you to get here?
- It'll take him a week to paint the house.
Exercises
48.1 Write questions with How long ... ? for each scene.
A plane flying from Bristol to Dublin.
(fly from Bristol to Dublin)
How long does it take to fly from Bristol to Dublin?
How long does it take to fly from Bristol to Dublin?
A boat crossing from Dover to Calais.
(go by ferry from Dover to Calais)
How long does it take to go by ferry from Dover to Calais?
A man walking from his house to the bus stop.
(walk to the bus stop)
How long does it take to walk to the bus stop?
A woman cycling to work.
(cycle to work)
How long does it take to cycle to work?
48.2 How long does it take to do these things? Write full sentences about yourself.
fly from your country to London
Example answer: It takes two hours to fly from Madrid to London.
fly from your country to New York
Example answer: It takes about eight hours to fly from my country to New York.
study to be a doctor in your country
Example answer: It takes about six years to study to be a doctor.
cycle from your home to the nearest park
Example answer: It takes ten minutes to cycle from my house to the nearest park.
drive from your home to the nearest beach
Example answer: It takes about forty minutes to drive to the nearest beach.
48.3 Write questions with How long did it take ... ?
(She found a flat.)
How long did it take her to find a flat?
How long did it take her to find a flat?
(I walked to the station.)
How long did it take you to walk to the station?
(He cleaned the windows.)
How long did it take him to clean the windows?
(I learnt to swim.)
How long did it take you to learn to swim?
(They repaired the van.)
How long did it take them to repair the van?
48.4 Read the situations and write sentences with It took ... .
I painted the spare room. I started on Friday and finished on Sunday.
It took me three days to paint the spare room.
It took me three days to paint the spare room.
We cycled to the lake. We set off at nine and arrived at a quarter to ten.
It took us forty-five minutes to cycle to the lake.
I learnt to drive last year. My first lesson was in January and I passed my test six months later.
It took me six months to learn to drive.
Mark drove to Leeds yesterday. He left home at eight and got to Leeds at ten.
It took him two hours to drive to Leeds.
Omar began saving for a car two years ago. He bought one last month.
It took him two years to save for a car.