“How long did it take?” and “How long did it last?” both ask about the time. The duration of time. So, what is the difference? Is there a difference? What will happen if you confuse them?
Well, if you have under 10 minutes, I’ll help you discover the answer to all these questions, and more!
As usual, here’s what I recommend you do:
1. Listen to this episode. Listen and try to relax. You will get:
– simple explanations,
– examples,
and,
– chances to practice. So:
2. Listen again, and try to answer the questions out loud. (I can emphasize out loud enough!)
3. Follow me on social media to get reminders for at least one more practice during the week. This time, try to give new answers.
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4. If you are listening on YouTube, do not forget to:
- Turn on the CC (Closed Captions),
- “Like” the video (if you liked it!),
- “Subscribe” (because you don’t want to miss extra videos I upload only on YouTube),
and - hit the “Notification” bell (because why not?!)
Now, let’s get going!
Breathe. It’s OK. Relax. Relax your shoulders and your jaw. Take that deep breath and come with me. It won’t take long, and it will be easy, I promise.
Hello everyone. Happy you are here to listen to more on English Airs, the podcast that will give you effortless accuracy, and hopefully get some practice. My name is Parya, and here is the mini-story of how we ended up here: I came up with the idea of making this podcast to help my students (and anyone else that might need it) in 2021. It took me about two months to make the website, and at first, I was quite frustrated. I mean I was angry (at myself!), tired, and a little hopeless because everything was new and the progress was slow. But, the frustration didn’t last long. I learned what to do and then I started really enjoying the work. I spent a few more months preparing the first episodes. I wanted to check everything and make sure things would go smoothly. Now, it has been almost six months! I have been getting lots of requests for episodes, and I promise to make them but you have to wait your turn! Today’s episode, for example, is the request of Mateo from Spain. He wants to know the difference between “It takes 2 hours” and “It lasts two hours”. Can you answer him? If not, come along and let’s discover the difference. Maybe you already know the answer? Well, come with me anyway! We would love to have you with us!
So, let’s start by looking at what I said a minute ago:
“It took me about two months to make the website.”
“The frustration didn’t last long.”
and
“I spent a few more months preparing the first episodes.”
In your opinion, which one of these was totally in my control? Did you say “spend”? You are right! We spend time doing different things. For instance, every morning I spend some time going over emails I have received during the night. What about you? Can you think and tell me 2 or 3 things you spend some time doing every day? I’ll wait a bit while you tell me about your day.
Great! Some of you spend some time studying English! Way to go! Now let’s look back at the time I spent making the website. Do you think I wanted to spend two months? Of course not! I was really impatient! So why did I spend that much time? Well, for one thing, I actually have a full-time job. But more importantly, I needed that time. I was learning, so it was not possible to finish it any sooner. Take your commute, for example. As you know, commute means going to work or school and back. You do spend time commuting, but it’s not completely in your control, is it? So how long does it take you to go to work or school? Can you think of some other examples? Like, how long does it take you to get ready to leave home? How long does it take to make dinner? Think a little, and tell me a few things. I’m listening!
Well done! You know, it takes less than 10 minutes to listen to each of my episodes, so maybe that’s something you can do when you are commuting? You’ll get a little practice every day, which means it will take a shorter time to improve! Wouldn’t that be great? You can enjoy movies, you can communicate with people when you travel, and you might even get a better job and a higher income! Really, the benefits last a very long time! And here we are: my frustration didn’t last long, and the benefits of learning another language last a lifetime. In these examples, are talking about the time we need? We aren’t, are we? What are we talking about? Do you need another hint? OK: some perfumes last a few hours and some last all day. You got it, right? Yes, we are talking about how long something continues. All right. Your turn now: When it rains in your area, how long does it usually last? Think of a popular person in your country. How long did their popularity last? Do you wear perfume or cologne? How long does one bottle last? I’ll give you a bit of time so that you can think and give me some more examples. Out loud, if you can. Go on!
Great job everyone! We can bring this episode to an end with that. Just remember that sometimes both are correct. You can say “The meeting lasted 3 hours” which means it continued for 3 hours. but it’s also OK to say the meeting took 3 hours”. In this case, you mean that much time was necessary to do everything on the agenda.
And that’s it. Mateo, I hope you got your answer, and I also hope everyone found this useful or fun, or maybe both. This was the last episode of season 2. The next episode will be a special. I will be talking about the difficulties in learning a language, and as always, there will be some tips. Season 3 will come soon, so stay tuned! Don’t forget to check out the YouTube channel to see the transcript as you listen to the podcast, and if you subscribe you won’t miss the videos that I’m making only for the channel! Take care everyone, and thank you again for recommending this podcast to others. Until next time,
Parya out!
Is there anything you’d like to add? Anything you want to ask? Leave a comment under this post, or ask me.
(Photo by J. Balla Photography)