Breakdown of Das dauert etwa zwei Stunden.
zwei
two
die Stunde
the hour
dauern
to last / to take (time)
etwa
roughly, about
Questions & Answers about Das dauert etwa zwei Stunden.
The current lesson says measurement words don't get a plural ending. Why is it zwei Stunden and not zwei Stunde?
You are thinking of masculine and neuter measurement words, which usually keep their singular form after numbers (like zwei Liter or drei Kilo). However, Stunde is a feminine noun (die Stunde). Feminine units of measurement and time do take their regular plural endings. That is why it becomes zwei Stunden.
In English, we say 'that takes two hours'. Can I use nehmen for 'takes' here?
No, when talking about how long an event or action lasts, you must use dauern (to last / to take time). If you want to say that you personally take two hours to finish something, you would use brauchen (to need), as in Ich brauche zwei Stunden. The verb nehmen is mostly used for physically taking an object.
Is there a difference between etwa and ungefähr?
In this context, they mean exactly the same thing: 'about' or 'roughly'. You could easily say Das dauert ungefähr zwei Stunden and it would mean the exact same thing. Etwa is just slightly shorter and very common in spoken German.
Could I say Es dauert etwa zwei Stunden instead of Das dauert?
Absolutely. Es dauert translates simply to 'It takes' and is completely correct. Using Das dauert translates closer to 'That takes' and is a demonstrative pronoun, meaning it points back more strongly to a specific task or event that was just mentioned in the conversation.
Learn Das dauert etwa zwei Stunden and more in German
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free