In this lesson you'll learn how to use the

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?

00:04:25.332 --> 00:04:32.377

"How long does it take
to drive downtown?"

00:04:32.962 --> 00:04:34.901

The answer:

00:04:35.655 --> 00:04:40.189

"It takes 45 minutes." Good.

00:04:40.383 --> 00:04:46.685

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?"

00:04:58.391 --> 00:05:00.298

So the answer is:

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"It will take me 10 minutes
to get ready." Okay?

00:05:05.792 --> 00:05:11.714

You see how that is? -"How long will it take
you...?" -"It will take me..." All right?

00:05:11.739 --> 00:05:15.475

Next, if we're asking the
question in the past:

00:05:15.703 --> 00:05:24.062

"How long did it take
him to get a refund?"

00:05:24.648 --> 00:05:25.986

The answer:

00:05:26.674 --> 00:05:32.504

"It took him 2 weeks
to get a refund."

00:05:32.611 --> 00:05:34.725

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?

00:05:45.186 --> 00:05:51.321

"How long does it take her to get
to work?" Good. The answer is:

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"It takes her 15 minutes.

00:05:56.141 --> 00:06:01.169

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.

00:06:05.400 --> 00:06:08.441

Right? -"How long does it
take...?" -"It takes this long."

00:06:08.466 --> 00:06:11.148

-"How long did it take...?"
-"It took that long."

00:06:11.211 --> 00:06:14.927

-"How long will it take...?"
-"It will take this long." Okay?

00:06:14.952 --> 00:06:18.588

So, practice it. And a very
good way to do that is to

00:06:18.613 --> 00:06:22.879

go to our website
at www.engvid.com.

00:06:22.904 --> 00:06:31.062

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.