Breakdown of Tienes que resumir la narrativa, lo que tomará tiempo.
tener
to have
el tiempo
time
tomar
to take / to drink
que
that / than
lo
the ... thing (neuter article)
la narrativa
the narrative
resumir
to summarize
Questions & Answers about Tienes que resumir la narrativa, lo que tomará tiempo.
Why is it lo que here instead of just que?
In this sentence, the word "which" doesn't refer back to a specific noun like la narrativa. Instead, it refers to the entire preceding idea of having to summarize the narrative. When you need a relative pronoun to refer back to a whole clause or abstract situation, you must use a neuter pronoun like lo que.
Could I use lo cual instead of lo que?
Yes, lo cual works perfectly here and means the exact same thing. Because there is a comma separating the clauses, both lo que and lo cual are grammatically correct for referring back to the whole previous idea. Lo cual just sounds a bit more formal or written, while lo que is more typical in everyday conversation.
Is resumir a false friend? It looks like "to resume."
Yes, it is a very common false friend! Resumir means "to summarize." If you want to say "to resume" (as in to continue an activity after a pause), you should use a verb like reanudar or retomar.
I've usually seen llevar tiempo used for "to take time." Can I use that instead of tomará tiempo?
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