Breakdown of El estudiante tarda mucho tiempo en dominar la gramática y lograr la fluidez.
el estudiante
the student
y
and
en
in / on / at
mucho
many / a lot
el tiempo
the time
lograr
to achieve
tardar
to take time
la gramática
the grammar
dominar
to master
la fluidez
the fluency
Questions & Answers about El estudiante tarda mucho tiempo en dominar la gramática y lograr la fluidez.
Why do we use en after mucho tiempo instead of para to say 'to master'?
This is because of the verb tardar (to take time). In Spanish, the formula for expressing how long it takes to do something is tardar + [time] + en + [infinitive]. Even though English says 'takes time to master', Spanish always pairs tardar with the preposition en.
Dominar looks like 'to dominate'. Is it a false friend?
Why doesn't the sentence say 'en dominar la gramática y en lograr la fluidez'? Do we need to repeat en?
You don't need to repeat it. Because the second infinitive, lograr (to achieve), is connected directly by y (and), it shares the preposition en from the first part of the phrase. This works just like English where you don't have to repeat the word 'to'.
The English translation says 'achieve fluency', but the Spanish adds an article: lograr la fluidez. Why is la required here?
In Spanish, abstract nouns—words representing general concepts, qualities, or ideas—require a definite article (el, la, los, las). Because 'fluency' is a general concept, it must be la fluidez. The same rule applies to la gramática earlier in the sentence.
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