Shadowing Practice: How to use How long does it take in English with examples - Learn English Speaking with Video

Creating lesson...
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How to ask in, how long does it take?
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In this video we are going to learn how to ask in, how long does it take?
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In present, past, and future tenses.
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The general form.
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to indicate period of time.
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In the present, how long does it take to do something?
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In the past, how long did it take to do something?
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In the future, how long will it take to do something?
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In the future, how long will it take to do something? To indicate distance.
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How long does it take from first place to second place?
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Examples. In the present.
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How long does it take by plane from New York to Washington?
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It takes an hour.
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How long does it take by train from London to Manchester?
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It takes two hours by train from London to Manchester.
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How long does it take by car from your house to the station?
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It takes 10 minutes by car from my house to the station.
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How long does it take to cross the Atlantic by ship?
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It takes a lot of days.
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How long does it take to cook a pizza?
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It takes 30 minutes to cook a pizza.
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How long does it take Tom to get to his work?
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It takes Tom 20 minutes to get to work in the morning.
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How long does it take to fly from Saudi Arabia to India?
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It takes about 6 hours by plane.
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How long does it take to become a doctor?
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It takes about 10 years.
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How long does it take to drive downtown?
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It takes two hours.
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How long does it take him to get to work?
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It takes him 25 minutes to get to work.
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How long does it take to get from your house to your grandparents' house on foot?
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It takes 30 minutes.
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How long does it take you to get ready in the morning?
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It takes me about 45 minutes to get ready.
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How long does it take to get to school by bus?
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It takes 45 minutes.
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Examples In the past I came by train. Did you?
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How long did it take to get here?
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It took six hours.
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I started reading the book on Monday.
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I finished it on Wednesday evening.
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It took me three days to read it.
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How long did it take to complete your undergraduate studies?
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It took five years.
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How long did it take her to get a refund?
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It took her three weeks to get a refund.
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How long did it take to run a marathon?
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It took about seven hours.
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How long did it take you to clean your room?
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It took me all day How long did it take him to find a job?
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It took him 20 days How long did it take you to walk to the station?
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It took me 45 minutes How long did it take her to paint the living room?
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It took her to paint it about three hours.
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How long did it take you to learn the Arabic?
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It took me to learn Arabic about two years.
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How long did it take them to repair the car?
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It took them two days.
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Examples In the future
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How long will it take to get from here to the hotel?
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It will take 45 minutes.
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How long will it take to learn English language?
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It will take a long time to learn a language.
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How long will it take to fix my computer?
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It won't take long to fix the computer.
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How long will it take me to learn to drive?
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You will take for seven days to learn it.
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How long will it take to finish your homework?
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It will take 45 minutes.
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How long will it take to deliver the pizza?
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It will take 30 minutes.
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How long will it take you to get ready?
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It will take me 15 minutes to get ready.
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The link of all sentences in this video is in the description.
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Don't forget to watch these videos.
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Thank you.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This A2 speaking lesson is built on the video “How to use How long does it take in English with examples”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: learn, hour, pizza, examples, train. This video has 76 sentences and 658 words to shadow. The speech runs for 6:56. The speaker talks slowly, about 95 words per minute, so there is time to copy every sound. 95% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow. 38 of its 76 sentences are questions, so it is good practice for question intonation and short answers.

Key vocabulary in this video

14 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:

WordPronunciationMeaning
pizza noun/ˈpi.tsə/A baked Italian dish of a thinly rolled bread crust typically topped before baking with tomato sauce, cheese, and other ingredients such as meat or vegetables.
indicate verb/ˈɪndɪˌkeɪt/To point out; to discover; to direct to a knowledge of; to show; to make known.
refund noun/ɹɪˈfʌnd/An amount of money returned.
repair verb/ˈɹiːpɛɚ/To restore to good working order, fix, or improve damaged condition; to mend; to remedy.
downtown noun/ˈdaʊ̯nˌtaʊ̯n/The main business part of a city or town, usually located at or near its center.
marathon noun/ˈmæɹəθən/A 42.195-kilometre (26-mile-385-yard) road race.
homework noun/ˈhoʊmˌwɝk/Exercises assigned by a teacher to a student which review concepts studied in class.
tense noun/tɛns/The property of indicating the point in time at which an action or state of being occurs or exists.
undergraduate nounA student at a university who has not yet received a degree.
grandparent noun/ˈɡɹæn(d)pɛəɹənt/The parent of someone's parent.
cook verb/kʊk/To prepare food for eating, typically by heating it, combining it with other ingredients, seasoning it, preparing it for serving, etc.
paint verb/peɪnt/To apply paint to.
sentence noun/ˈsɛn.təns/The judicial order for a punishment to be imposed on a person convicted of a crime.
deliver verb/dɪˈlɪv.ə(ɹ)/To set free from restraint or danger.

Sentences worth repeating

Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:

  • How long does it take you to get ready in the morning?
  • How long did it take to complete your undergraduate studies?
  • How long will it take to fix my computer?
  • How long will it take to finish your homework?
  • How long will it take you to get ready?

How to practise with this video

  1. Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
  2. Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
  3. Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like pizza, indicate, refund.

What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →