"Tardar" meaning "to take time"
The title is probably confusing. What it refers to are sentences like "It takes (me) 10 minutes to get to the supermarket. The most common formula is:
tardar + time + en +infinitive
Let's illustrate this with some examples. By the way, the verb "tardar" changes depending whether you include the person ("me" in the above example).
Spanish
1. Se tarda 10 minutos en llegar al supermercado.
2. (Yo) tardo 10 minutos en llegar al supermercado.
3. Se tarda sobre una hora en preparar la cena normalmente.
4. Mis hermanas tardan sobre una hora en preparar la cena normalmente.
English
1. It takes about 10 minutes to get to the supermarket.
2. It takes me about 10 minutes to get to the supermarket.
3. It usually takes about an hour to prepare dinner.
4. It usually takes my sisters about an hour to prepare dinner.
What you want to notice is that the construction "se tarda" is impersonal and refers to the action in general. As soon as you refer to how long it takes someone to do something, the verb tardar matches the subject: yo tardo, mis hermanas tardan.
A common mistake - in order to get the person into the sentence - is to say something like "me tardan 10 minutos en llegar al supermercado". This incorrect - no native speaker will ever say it.
Brad
