Det tar et kvarter.

It takes fifteen minutes.

Breakdown of Det tar et kvarter.

• det: it
• ta: to take
• et kvarter: fifteen minutes

Questions & Answers about Det tar et kvarter.

Why does the sentence start with det?

In Det tar et kvarter, det is a dummy subject, similar to English it in It takes fifteen minutes.

It does not refer to a specific thing here. Norwegian often uses det in general statements about time, weather, or situations.

So:

• Det tar et kvarter. = It takes a quarter of an hour.

You often see the same pattern in other sentences too:

• Det regner. = It is raining.
• Det er sent. = It is late.

Does tar mean the same as English takes here?

Yes. Tar is the present tense of ta, which often means take.

In this sentence, tar is used in the time-expression sense:

• Det tar fem minutter. = It takes five minutes.
• Det tar lang tid. = It takes a long time.

So this is a very common and useful use of ta.

Why is it et kvarter and not en kvarter?