Måltakingen tar ti minutter.

to take

Breakdown of Måltakingen tar ti minutter.

• minuttet: the minute
• ti: ten
• måltakingen: the taking of measurements

Questions & Answers about Måltakingen tar ti minutter.

Why does måltakingen end in -en?

The ending -en makes the noun definite singular.

• måltaking = measurement / taking measurements (indefinite)
• måltakingen = the measurement / the taking of measurements (definite)

So the sentence is talking about a specific measurement process, not measurement in general.

What kind of word is måltakingen?

It is a noun. More specifically, it is a noun that describes an action or process.

It comes from the idea of taking measurements. In English, we often do the same thing with nouns like:

• the measurement
• the inspection
• the interview

So in this sentence, måltakingen is the subject: it is the thing that takes ten minutes.

Why is tar used here? Doesn’t it usually mean takes in the sense of grabbing something?

Yes, tar often means takes in the physical sense, but it is also used just like English takes for duration.

So:

• Måltakingen tar ti minutter = The measuring takes ten minutes
• Det tar lang tid = It takes a long time

This use is very common in Norwegian.

Why is it ti minutter and not something else?