Breakdown of ¿Cuántos años tardaste en hablar español fluido?
hablar
to speak / to talk
el español
Spanish (language)
en
in / on / at
el año
year
cuánto
how much / how many
tardar
to take time
fluido
fluent
Questions & Answers about ¿Cuántos años tardaste en hablar español fluido?
Why do we use en before hablar here? In English, we say "take years TO speak."
When you use the verb tardar to talk about how long it takes to achieve or do something, it must be followed by the preposition en and an infinitive verb. You can't use a or para here, even though they often translate to "to" in English. The set formula is always: tardar + [amount of time] + en + [infinitive].
Can I use tomar instead of tardar, since we say "to take time" in English?
Why is tardaste in the preterite tense here instead of the imperfect (tardabas)?
You use the preterite (tardaste) because reaching fluency is viewed as a completed milestone in the past. You are asking about the total, closed amount of time it took to cross that finish line. The imperfect (tardabas) would imply a repeated or ongoing past habit, which doesn't make sense for a one-time achievement.
In español fluido, does fluido describe the language or how the person speaks?
In this specific sentence, fluido is an adjective describing the noun español (literally "fluent Spanish"), which is why it comes right after the noun it modifies. If you wanted to describe the action of speaking instead (to speak fluently), you would use the adverb fluidamente or place fluido directly after the verb: hablar fluido el español.
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