How do I say, "It takes..."

Question

..as in, "it takes an hour to wash my car"?

Una gran pregunta :) - nonombre, Jan 4, 2012

Answer 1

Hello Mstivers and welcome to the SpanishDict forum

I think you could say: Se tarda una hora en lavar mi coche

= It takes an hour to wash my car

But I have since learnt from Cogumela's response to Jeezle's great question that it would be better/more natural to say:

Lleva una hora lavar mi coche

= It takes an hour to wash my car

Here is a link to the follow-up question that prompted me to update my response here in the light of new knowledge gained:

link text

Another example:

¿Cuántas horas tardará este tren para llegar a Madrid?

= How many hours (how long) will it take this train to arrive at Madrid?

I hope this helps

Corrijan mi español, por favor

Answer 2

Nice one.

I think: Tarda una hora en lavar mi coche.

Google does not pan this out, and I have no backup, just a guess.

I think you could use "para" instead of "en" as well. - BradyLabuda, Jan 3, 2012

This is not correct , Jeezz - cogumela, Jan 4, 2012

Answer 3

Tarda una hora en lavar mi coche.

This sentence is correct, but it needs to be "Se tarda ........"

Or "Tardo .........." if "I" is the subject.

Hmm, Me tardo is not correct, julian. - cogumela, Jan 4, 2012

Oops! Of course you're right, Laura. It's not passive voice, is it?. I'll fix that - 005faa61, Jan 4, 2012

Answer 4

Me lleva una hora lavar el coche

And so, could you say "Se lleva una hora...." to make it more "impersonal"?

(As in, "It takes an hour to....)

No, you cannot say that. I've just edited my post, which was unclear. It's only -->Lleva - cogumela, Jan 4, 2012

All good Cogumela - I'm with it now :) - nonombre, Jan 4, 2012

Answer 5

Hi, ms !

I'd say:

Me lleva una hora lavar el coche

Wait, this is not the answer to the original question, I've just have realised, sorry.

It takes--> Lleva una hora lavar mi coche.

Oh I think you've answered my question of three minutes ago :) - nonombre, Jan 4, 2012

Answer 6

Jeezzle y Julian han dicho,

[Se] tarda una hora en lavar mi coche.

---

¿Se puede decir, "Se tarda una hora para lavar mi coche."?

Not really, we wouldn't say that - cogumela, Jan 4, 2012

Ay "me lleva" - gracias Cogumela :) - nonombre, Jan 4, 2012