structure · neutral

It took me + time + to V

Band 4-5speakingtask2

Used to say how long someone needed to do something.

Examples

“It took me three hours to finish the assignment.”

“It takes me about twenty minutes to walk to school.”

“It took the researchers nearly a year to gather reliable data.”

Band 8 sentence

“It took me nearly a month to gather reliable data for my research because many potential participants were reluctant to be interviewed.”

Collocations

  • It takes/took sb + time expression + to + verb

Common mistakes

It took me to finish it one hour.→It took me one hour to finish it.

It took me 2 hours finishing it.→It took me 2 hours to finish it.

Took me three hours to finish it.→It took me three hours to finish it.

Say it for a higher band

5I spent + time + V-ing→6I needed + time + to V→7+It took me + time + to V

Synonyms

I spent + time + V-ing

I needed + time + to V

Easily confused

I spent + time + V-ing

“I spent two hours revising my essay, but it took me three hours to finish it.”

Related words

By the time + clause, clauseWhether + clause (or not)So + adjective + that + clauseEven if + clause, clauseSuch + (a/an) + noun + that + clauseIf + past perfect, would have + past participleOn the one hand + clause; on the other hand + clauseGiven that + clause, + clause

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In Complex sentences

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