expressions: "How long does it take...?", "How long did it take...?", and "How long will it take...?" All right?
Now, before we begin I want to explain that the
words "how long" can apply to two different areas. Sometimes they apply to space, and sometimes they apply to time. So, for example, we can say: "How long is the table?" Now we are measuring space, the length of the table. That's the first meaning. That's not what you're going to learn in this lesson. In this lesson we're going to focus on "how long" in terms of time. So when we say: How long does it take for something, we're actually asking: How much time is needed for something? How much time is required to do something? For example: "How long does it take to fly from Da Lat to Ho Chi Minh City?"
That's in the present tense, which we can use to
talk about things in general.
The answer to that would be:
"It takes about an hour." Okay? You see the question and the answer here - How long does it take...? - It takes...
Now, if you were asking the same question in
the past, then we would ask it like this:
"How long did it take to fly
from Da Lat to Ho Chi Minh City?"
"It took about an hour."
The form of the verb "take" changes
according to our questions. Now, in the future we would say: - How long will it take to fly from Da Lat to Ho Chi Minh City? - It will take an hour. Okay?
So what you need to remember
is this expression:
"How long does it take...?",
"How long did it take...?", or "How long will it take...?"
And also the responses: "It takes...", or "It
took...", or "It will take..." All right? We're going to do an exercise where you'll have a chance to practice using these expressions. So let's begin. So remember: According to whatever it says here, present or past or future, you're going to ask questions like: "How long does it take...?", "How long did it take...?", or "How long will it take...?" and the appropriate answer. Okay? If you need to look down here, you can to look at the words: "does", "did", or "will", or "takes", "took", or "will take", but if you don't need to, then just try to keep your eyes at the top. Okay? First one. The present simple. "How long does it take to get there?" The answer is:
"It takes two hours to drive there."
In the future, how will you ask this question?
"How long will it take to get there?"
The answer might be: "It will take 30 minutes."
Okay? Try to do it along with me.
In the past, how do we ask the question?
"How long did it take you to get there?"
In the past, the answer:
"It took two hours." Okay?
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. 00:05:34.913 --> 00:05:45.161 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. 00:06:01.169 --> 00:06:05.400 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. 00:06:31.087 --> 00:06:34.805 Okay? I wish you all the best with your English. Bye for now.