"It took a minute"

Question

I am translating a story with the following sentences:

This was a declarative statement that I was supposed to get... But it took a minute.

Supuestamente era una oración declarativa lo que debería haber comprendido... Pero...

I'm looking for a natural sounding way to say "it took a minute". Something smoother than, for instance, "Pero pasó un rato antes de que lo comprendiera." Or is that fine?

Gracias de antemano,

J

Why you used lo que instead of que lo? This one keeps on confusing me. - SpanishPal, Jul 28, 2011

Really the "lo" was a carelessness on my part. Pero "que lo" es un poco insolito! - Jeremias, Jul 28, 2011

Answer 1

I would say:

Era una oración declarativa que debería haber comprendido enseguida... Pero me tomó un minuto/un momento/un ratito.

Suena bien. Gracias G! - Jeremias, Jul 28, 2011

Answer 2

1. requerir (require) (effort, dedication, strength)

•it took four of us to carry him -> hicimos falta cuatro para llevarlo

•it takes courage to… -> hace falta valor para…

•how long does it take? -> ¿cuánto tiempo lleva?

•learning a language takes a long time -> aprender un idioma lleva mucho tiempo

•it took me an hour to get here -> tardé una hora en llegar

•that will take some explaining -> eso va a ser complicado de explicar

Pero tardé un minuto?? - SpanishPal, Jul 28, 2011

Answer 3

try " tomó un momento"

Gracias P! - Jeremias, Jul 28, 2011