Learn Spanish (Latin America): Tardamos dos meses en comprender el dialecto. - We took two months to understand the dialect.

Tardamos dos meses en comprender el dialecto.

We took two months to understand the dialect.

Breakdown of Tardamos dos meses en comprender el dialecto.

Questions & Answers about Tardamos dos meses en comprender el dialecto.

In English we often say "It took us two months." Why does this sentence use the "we" form (tardamos)?

In English, we usually use the impersonal "it" (It took us...). But in Spanish, the person taking the time is the actual subject of the verb. Since "we" spent the time learning, the verb is conjugated in the "we" form: tardamos.

Why do we use en before comprender instead of a word like para or a?

This is a required part of the formula. When you want to express how long it takes to do an action, you use tardar + [time] + en + [infinitive verb]. Even though English uses "to" (to understand), Spanish requires the preposition en in this specific structure.

Is tardamos in the present tense or the past tense here?

It is in the past tense (preterite) here, translating to "we took". For the nosotros (we) form of regular -ar verbs, the present and past tenses are spelled and pronounced exactly the same. You just have to rely on context to know if it means "we take" or "we took".

Could I use entender instead of comprender to mean "to understand"?

Yes, absolutely! Comprender and entender are practically interchangeable in this context. Comprender can sometimes feel a bit deeper, much like "comprehend" in English, but both are perfectly natural for talking about understanding a language or dialect.