Talk about length time in Spanish using DURAR, TARDAR y LLEVAR
Do you know how to talk about length time in Spanish using the verbs DURAR, TARDAR y LLEVAR? They work in a completely different way to English and, often, cause errors among students of Spanish as a foreign language. On the other hand, we, native Spanish speakers, use these three verbs all the time. Let’s see the best way to use them
DURAR to talk about length time in Spanish
We use ‘durar + length of time” to express how long something lasts, where the subject of the sentence is the event:
El examen duró tres horas. (The exam lasted (for) three hours.)
¿Cuánto dura el vuelo a Madrid? (How long is the flight to Madrid? / How long does the flight to Madrid take?)
La reunión durará todo el día. (The conference will last the whole day.)
TARDAR + lenght time period
We use ‘tardar + amount of time + en + infinitive” to say how long it takes for someone (person, animal, or thing) to do something; where the person, animal, or thing will be the subject of the sentence.
Tardamos dos horas en llegar a Madrid en avión (I took us three hours to get to Madrid by plane).
El avión tardó más de tres horas en llegar a Tenerife (The plane took more than three hours to reach Tenerife.)
¿Cuánto se tarda en llegar de Málaga a Marbella en bicicleta? (How long does it take to go from Málaga to Marbella by bike?)
Be careful, because TARDAR also means to take too much time, as in delaying.
El tren tarda en llegar (the train is late in arriving.)
Also pay attention not mistake verb tardar with the adjective tarde (late).
El tren llegó tres horas tarde (the train arrived three hours late.)
LLEVAR to talk about length time
We use ‘Llevar‘ + time + gerund to say for how long an action has been going on.
Lleva una hora esperando al teléfono (He has been waiting for one hour on the phone.)
Llevamos viviendo tres años en Medellín. ( We have been living in Medellín for three years).
Llevar + time + sin + infinitive: ‘to go / to be for + length of time + without’
Carmen lleva tres días sin dormir. (Carmen hasn’t slept for three days.)
Llevar + amount of time (+ en) + place. We use this expression to say how long someone or something has been somewhere.
Este restaurante lleva en este lugar desde hace más de cien años (This restaurant has been in this place for more than one hundred years.)
¿Cuánto tiempo llevas en Barcelona? (How long have you been in Barcelona?)
Always read the verb llevar in context, because it has different meanings.
Exercises to talk about length time
Now it is time to practice verbs DURAR, TARDAR y LLEVAR in time expression with a quiz. Remember to contact your tutor with any questions you have about . Don’t you have a Spanish online tutor yet?
Here you have some activities to practice everything you have learned about length time in Spanish. Remember you can contact your tutor if you have any questions. Don’t you have a Spanish online tutor yet?