Learn Italian: Voi ci avete messo due ore per la coda. - You took two hours because of the queue.

Voi ci avete messo due ore per la coda.

You took two hours because of the queue.

Breakdown of Voi ci avete messo due ore per la coda.

for / in order to / because of

l'ora

the hour (f)

Questions & Answers about Voi ci avete messo due ore per la coda.

Why is the word ci used before avete messo?

It is part of the verb metterci, which means "to take time" when referring to a specific person or group. Since the subject is voi (you all), mettere is conjugated as avete messo for the past tense, and the ci stays right in front of it.

Could I use volerci instead of metterci here?

You could, but the grammar changes completely. Volerci is impersonal and agrees with the amount of time, not the people. To use it, you would drop voi and say ci sono volute due ore (it took two hours). We use metterci here because the sentence focuses specifically on who took the time.

Since due ore is feminine plural, shouldn't the past participle be messe?

No, it stays messo because metterci uses the helping verb avere (avete). In the past tense, verbs that use avere do not change their endings to match the noun that follows them. If you used volerci, which uses the helping verb essere, it would change to match the hours: ci sono volute due ore.

I learned that per means "for". Why is it translated as "because of" in this sentence?