Unit 47

How long does it take ... ?

Grammar

Examples

Exercises

A. How long does it take by plane from London to Madrid?

London

Madrid

How long does it take by plane from London to Madrid?
It takes two hours.

How long does it take	two hours	by plane	from ... to ...
	ten minutes	by train
	a long time	by car

How long does it take by train from London to Manchester?
It takes two hours by train from London to Manchester.
How long does it take by car from your house to the station?
It takes ten minutes by car from my house to the station.

B. How long did it take you to ... ?

3 days

I started reading the book on Monday.
I finished it on Wednesday evening.

It took me three days to read it.

does did will	(you) (Ann) (them)	to ... ?
takes	(me)	a week
took	(Ann)	a long time
will take	(them)	three hours

How long does it take to fly from London to Madrid?
It takes a long time to learn a language.
It doesn't take long to cook an omelette.
It takes me 20 minutes to get to work.
‘I came by train.’ ‘Did you? How long did it take (to get here)?’
It took Tom an hour to do his shopping.
Did it take you a long time to find a job?
How long will it take me to learn to drive?
It will take us an hour to cook the dinner.

Present: How long does it take ... ?

How long does it take to get from London to Paris by train?
It takes about 2 hours.
How long does it take to walk to the station?
It takes 15 minutes.
It doesn't take long to send an email.

Past: How long did it take ... ?

How long did it take you to write the report?
It took me two days.
How long did it take to repair the car?
It took a week.

Future: How long will it take ... ?

How long will it take to finish the project?
It will take about a month.
How long will it take us to get there?
It will take three hours.

Progress: 0% (0/0)

47.1 Look at the pictures and write questions with How long ... ?

London

Amsterdam

Milan

Rome

Paris

Geneva

Center

Airport

47.2 How long does it take to do these things? Write full sentences.

1. fly from your city/country to London →

2. fly from your city/country to New York →

3. study to be a doctor in your country →

4. walk from your home to the nearest shop →

5. get from your home to the nearest airport →

47.3 Write questions with How long did it take ... ?

1. (She found a place to live.) →

2. (I walked to the station.) →

3. (He cleaned the windows.) →

4. (I learnt to ski.) →

5. (They repaired the car.) →

47.4 Read the situations and write sentences with It took ...

1. I read a book last week. I started reading it on Monday. I finished it three days later.
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2. We walked home last night. We left at 10 o'clock and we arrived home at 10.20.
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3. I learnt to drive last year. I had my first driving lesson in January. I passed my driving test six months later.
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4. Mark drove to London yesterday. He left home at 8 o'clock and got to London at 10.
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5. Linda began looking for a job a long time ago. She got a job last week.
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6. (write a true sentence about yourself)
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