Der Film dauert zwanzig Minuten.

The film lasts twenty minutes.

Breakdown of Der Film dauert zwanzig Minuten.

• der Film: the film
• zwanzig: twenty
• die Minute: the minute
• dauern: to last

Questions & Answers about Der Film dauert zwanzig Minuten.

What does the verb dauern mean, and why is it used here?

dauern means “to last” or “to take (time).” It describes how long something continues. In Der Film dauert zwanzig Minuten, we’re stating the length of the film. You cannot replace dauern with haben or halten in this context, because those verbs don’t express the idea of duration in German.

Why is there no preposition like für before zwanzig Minuten?

In German, time spans that express duration normally stand in the accusative case without a preposition. So you simply say zwanzig Minuten (accusative) rather than für zwanzig Minuten. Using für would be possible in some contexts (e.g. für zwanzig Minuten parken), but not with dauern.

Why is zwanzig Minuten in the accusative case?

Duration expressions (how long something lasts) take the accusative in German. Here Minuten is plural, and as a duration it has no article, but it still shows accusative plural form (which looks the same as nominative plural for Minuten).

Why is Minuten plural instead of singular?

German uses the plural form when a number other than one is involved. Since 20 is greater than one, you must use Minuten (plural) rather than Minute (singular).

Could I say Der Film dauert 20 Minuten using digits instead of words?

Yes. In everyday writing and signage it’s common to write 20 Minuten. In formal prose you might spell out zwanzig Minuten, but using digits is perfectly acceptable and often clearer.

What’s the difference between Der Film dauert zwanzig Minuten and Der Film ist zwanzig Minuten lang?

Both mean “The film lasts twenty minutes.”

• dauern
  • duration is a direct way to talk about how long something takes.
• sein + lang uses lang (“long”) as an adjective: Der Film ist zwanzig Minuten lang.
  They are interchangeable in meaning, though dauern is slightly more common when discussing events or processes.

Can I put zwanzig Minuten at the beginning of the sentence?

Yes, you can front the time expression for emphasis:
Zwanzig Minuten dauert der Film.
This inversion is grammatically correct, but the neutral word order is Der Film dauert zwanzig Minuten.

How do I ask “How long does the film last?” in German?

Use the question word Wie lange plus the verb dauern:
Wie lange dauert der Film?
Then you can answer:
Er dauert zwanzig Minuten. or simply Zwanzig Minuten.