Question 1

Why do we use en before dominar? Doesn't the English translation just say 'to master'?

Accepted Answer

This is the exact structure you are learning in this lesson! In Spanish, to express how long it takes to do something, we use the formula tardar + [amount of time] + en + [infinitive]. You must always include the preposition en here, even though English just uses the infinitive 'to do' something.

Question 2

Since taking a lot of time is an ongoing process, why is tardaron in the preterite past tense instead of the imperfect?

Accepted Answer

Even though the learning process spanned a long time, the overall action of 'taking that amount of time' is viewed as a single, completed event. They successfully mastered the pronunciation, so the total time it took is now a closed, finished fact in the past.

Question 3

Is it possible to drop the word tiempo and just say tardaron mucho en dominar?

Accepted Answer

Absolutely. In Spanish, it is very common to just say tardar mucho (to take a long time) or tardar poco (to take a short time). Keeping tiempo in the sentence is grammatically correct but entirely optional; it just adds a little extra emphasis.

Question 4

Dominar looks like the English word 'dominate.' Is that what it means here?

Accepted Answer

They are related! While dominar can literally mean 'to dominate' or 'to rule,' when you use it with a skill, language, or subject—like la pronunciación—it translates perfectly to 'to master' or 'to become proficient in'.

Ellos tardaron mucho tiempo en dominar la pronunciación.

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