Lección 78 · Etapa 6: Patrones verbales
“It takes … to”
IntermedioForma y uso
it takes + tiempo/esfuerzo + to verbo — lo que algo requiere
1.Forma
It takes + tiempo / esfuerzo + to + verbo dice cuánto tiempo o esfuerzo hace falta para algo (“se tarda…”, “hace falta… para…”). It es un sujeto vacío; solo take cambia de tiempo (take – took – taken).
| Estructura | Ejemplo |
|---|---|
| It takes + tiempo + to + verbo | It takes ten minutes to walk there. |
| It takes + persona + tiempo + to + verbo | It takes me ten minutes to walk there. |
| It takes + tiempo + for + persona / cosa + to + verbo | It took a week for my ankle to heal. |
| It takes + esfuerzo / cualidad + to + verbo | It takes courage to say no. |
| How long does it take (+ persona) + to + verbo? | How long does it take you to get to work? |
Muchos estudiantes usan lose o spend con it. Con it, el verbo para el tiempo necesario siempre es take: It took me two hours to fix the printer. Con una persona como sujeto, usa spend + -ing: I spent two hours fixing it.
2.Cómo se usa
1. El tiempo que hace falta para hacer algo
It takes about two hours to get from Hanoi to Hai Phong by bus.
Se tarda unas dos horas en ir de Hanói a Hai Phong en autobús.
It took me three years to learn to drive.
Tardé tres años en aprender a conducir.
It only takes a minute to sign up.
Registrarse solo lleva un minuto.
2. Preguntar cuánto tiempo: How long does / did / will it take…?
How long does it take to boil an egg? — About seven minutes.
¿Cuánto se tarda en cocer un huevo? —Unos siete minutos.
How long did it take you to get your driving licence?
¿Cuánto tardaste en sacar el permiso de conducir?
Respuestas cortas: It takes about an hour. / Not long. / Ages! (muchísimo tiempo) / It depends on the traffic.
3. Esfuerzo, cualidades o cosas necesarias: It takes + practice / patience / courage / money…
It takes a lot of practice to play the guitar well.
Hace falta mucha práctica para tocar bien la guitarra.
It takes courage to speak in front of a big crowd.
Hace falta valor para hablar delante de mucha gente.
4. Cuando es otra persona u otra cosa la que necesita el tiempo: for + persona / cosa + to + verbo
It took six weeks for my visa to arrive.
Mi visa tardó seis semanas en llegar.
It took ages for the bus to come.
El autobús tardó una eternidad en venir.
También puedes poner la actividad como sujeto: The journey takes six hours. / Getting a visa took us six weeks. Una persona también puede ser el sujeto: She took ages to reply.
3.Take en distintos tiempos
| Tiempo | Ejemplo |
|---|---|
| presente simple: habitual, general | It takes me an hour to cook dinner. |
| pasado simple: terminado | It took me an hour to cook dinner yesterday. |
| present perfect: hasta ahora | It has taken us three months to save half the money. |
| futuro: predicción | It will take them a month to build the bridge. |
| would: imaginado | It would take forever to walk there. |
| forma continua: todavía en curso | It's taking ages to download. |
Cuando el tiempo ya terminó, usa el pasado simple, no la forma continua: It took me five years to finish my degree.
4.Take, spend, last, need
| Verbo | Uso | Ejemplo |
|---|---|---|
| take | sujeto it o la actividad; tiempo necesario + to + verbo | It takes me two hours to clean the house. |
| spend | una persona como sujeto; spend + tiempo + -ing | I spend two hours cleaning the house. |
| last | cuánto dura un evento (sin to + verbo) | The film lasts two hours. |
| need | una persona como sujeto; necesitar tiempo | I need two hours to finish this. |
It took me two days to paint my room. = I spent two days painting my room.
Tardé dos días en pintar mi cuarto. = Pasé dos días pintando mi cuarto.
5.Errores comunes
It takes me thirty minutes for walking to school.It takes me thirty minutes to walk to school.
It takes + tiempo + to + verbo.
It spends me two hours to do my homework.It takes me two hours to do my homework.
Spend necesita una persona como sujeto: I spend two hours doing…
It take me an hour to cook dinner.It takes me an hour to cook dinner.
It → takes (añade -s).
It took to me two weeks to get over the flu.It took me two weeks to get over the flu.
No va to antes de la persona.
It has took me two years to save for this bike.It has taken me two years to save for this bike.
El participio de take es taken.
It needs two hours to drive from Hanoi to Ninh Binh.It takes two hours to drive from Hanoi to Ninh Binh.
Con it + to + verbo, usa take.
Ejemplos
- It takes about two hours to get from Hanoi to Hai Phong by bus.
- It took us ten minutes to find a parking space.
- It takes about an hour to bake this cake.
- It will take them a month to build the new bridge.
