Learn Hardcore Spanish (Latin America): Tardo cinco minutos en preparar el desayuno. - I take five minutes to prepare breakfast.

• Meaning: “to take (time) to do something.”
• Usage: When you want to express how long you need for an action, use tardar + en + infinitive.
• In this sentence, tardo cinco minutos en preparar tells you the speaker “takes five minutes to prepare.”

Why is the verb tardo in the present tense and first person singular?

• Tardo = first person singular (yo) present form of tardar.
• Spanish often uses the present tense for habitual actions or general statements: “I take five minutes…”
• If the speaker meant past or future, they’d change the tense (e.g., tardé, tardaré).

Why is there an en before preparar, and what role does it play?

• tardar requires the preposition en when introducing the action that takes time.
• en links tardar to the following infinitive, making the structure: tardar en + [infinitive].

Why is preparar in the infinitive form rather than a conjugated verb?

• After a preposition (here, en), Spanish always uses the infinitive.
• The infinitive functions like a noun, naming the action that “takes” the time.

Why do we say el desayuno with the article el? Can it be omitted?

• In Spanish, meals generally take a definite article: el desayuno, la comida, la cena.
• Omitting it (preparar desayuno) can sound informal or regionally colloquial, but the standard is to keep el.

Can I use a reflexive form like me tardo instead of tardo?

• In some Latin American dialects (e.g., Mexico), speakers use tardarse: me tardo cinco minutos.
• However, the non-reflexive tardar (yo tardo) is more widely accepted across Spanish-speaking regions.

Are there alternative verbs to express “it takes me five minutes to prepare breakfast”?

Yes. Common options:
• Me lleva cinco minutos preparar el desayuno.
• Me toma cinco minutos preparar el desayuno.
All three—tardar en, llevar, and tomar—are idiomatic for expressing duration.

What about using the impersonal se tarda form?

• Se tarda cinco minutos en preparar el desayuno.
• This construction makes a general statement (“It takes five minutes…”), without specifying who takes the time.

Could I rephrase the idea by using preparo instead of tardo?

Yes, you can switch to a more active structure:
• Preparo el desayuno en cinco minutos.
Here you have subject + verb + object + time phrase, which is equally natural.

Where else can I place the time expression en cinco minutos in a sentence?

Time phrases in Spanish are quite flexible:
• At the beginning: En cinco minutos preparo el desayuno.
• At the end: Preparo el desayuno en cinco minutos.
When using tardar, though, stick to Tardo cinco minutos en preparar… for clarity.