Learn English Grammar: How long does it take?

317,060 views ・ 2016-08-20

Learn English with Rebecca


Please double-click on the English subtitles below to play the video.

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Hi. I'm Rebecca from engVid. In this lesson you'll learn how to use the expressions:
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"How long does it take...?", "How long did it take...?", and "How long will it take...?" All right?
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Now, before we begin I want to explain that the words "how long" can apply to two different
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areas. Sometimes they apply to space, and sometimes they apply to time. So, for example,
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we could say: "How long is the table?" Now we are measuring space. Okay? The length of
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the table. That's one meaning. That's not what you're going to learn in this lesson.
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In this lesson we're going to focus on "how long" in terms of time.
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So when we say: How long does it take for something, we're actually asking:
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How much time is needed for something? How much time is required to do something? For example:
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"How long does it take to fly from Los Angeles to New York?"
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Okay? So that's in the present tense, which we can use to talk about things in general. So:
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"How long does it take to fly from Los Angeles to New York?"
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The answer to that would be: "It takes about six hours."
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Okay? You see that up here. -"How long does it take...?" -"It takes..."
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Now, if you were asking the same question in the past, then we would ask it like this:
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"How long did it take to fly from Los Angeles to New York?"
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"It took about six hours."
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Okay? So along with the question, we see that the answer has to also change. Right? The
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form of the verb "take" changes according to our response.
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Now, in the future we would say: -"How long will it take to fly from Los Angeles to New York?"
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-"It will take about six hours." Okay?
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So what you need to remember is this expression:
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"How long does it take...?", "How long did it take...?", or "How long will it take...?"
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And also the responses: "It takes...", or "It took...", or "It will take..." All right?
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Does that seem easy? Well, I hope so. We're going to find out in a minute. We're going
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to do an exercise where you'll have a chance to practice using these expressions.
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So let's begin. So remember: According to whatever it says here, present or past or future,
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you're going to ask questions like: "How long does it take...?",
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"How long did it take...?", or "How long will it take...?"
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and the appropriate answer. Okay? If you need
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to look down here, you can to look at the words: "does", "did", or "will", or "takes",
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"took", or "will take", but if you don't need to, then just try to keep your eyes at the
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top. Okay?
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First one. Present. "How long does it take to become a doctor?" The answer is:
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"It takes 10 years." Okay? At least 10 years. Probably much more.
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Okay. In the future, how will you ask this question?
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"How long will it take to finish your homework?"
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Answer: "It will take 30 minutes." Okay? Try to do it along with me.
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In the past, how do we ask the question?
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"How long did it take to complete your MBA?"
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In the past, the answer:
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"It took 2 years." Okay?
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Next, in the future:
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"How long will it take to deliver the pizza?"
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"It will take 20 minutes."
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Good.
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In the present, okay? Still with me? Ready? How do we ask the question in the present?
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"How long does it take to drive downtown?"
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The answer:
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"It takes 45 minutes." Good.
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Now, in the future. Slightly different question, I'm going to show you what it is. So:
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"How long will it take you", okay? Now we've put in a word here.
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"How long will it take you to get ready?"
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So the answer is:
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"It will take me 10 minutes to get ready." Okay?
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You see how that is? -"How long will it take you...?" -"It will take me..." All right?
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Next, if we're asking the question in the past:
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"How long did it take him to get a refund?"
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The answer:
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"It took him 2 weeks to get a refund."
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Okay? Good, you're doing great.
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And the last one in the present tense: "How long does it take her to get to work?" Okay?
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"How long does it take her to get to work?" Good. The answer is:
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"It takes her 15 minutes.
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It takes her 15 minutes to get to work." Okay? All right.
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Once you get the hang of it, of course it will flow much faster and much more easily.
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Right? -"How long does it take...?" -"It takes this long."
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-"How long did it take...?" -"It took that long."
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-"How long will it take...?" -"It will take this long." Okay?
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So, practice it. And a very good way to do that is to
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go to our website at www.engvid.com.
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There, you can do a quiz on this lesson and also have access to hundreds and hundreds of other English lessons.
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Okay? I wish you all the best with your English. Bye for now.
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