Breakdown of El ilusionista tarda cinco minutos en hipnotizar al sujeto.
en
in / on / at
el minuto
minute
cinco
five
tardar
to take time
al
personal 'a' + the (marks a human direct object)
el ilusionista
the illusionist
el sujeto
the subject
hipnotizar
to hypnotize
Questions & Answers about El ilusionista tarda cinco minutos en hipnotizar al sujeto.
Why is it en hipnotizar instead of just hipnotizar or a hipnotizar?
The verb tardar (to take time) always pairs with the preposition en before an action. While English says someone "takes time to do something", Spanish frames it as taking time in doing something. The set formula is tardar + [time] + en + [infinitive].
English uses "takes", so could I use tomar or llevar here instead of tardar?
Yes, but the grammar completely changes if you do. Tardar acts like a normal verb where the person is the subject (el ilusionista tarda). If you use tomar or llevar, the time becomes the subject, and you need an indirect object pronoun for the person: Al ilusionista le toma cinco minutos hipnotizar al sujeto.
Why does sujeto require the personal a (al sujeto) here? Isn't it an impersonal scientific word?
The current lesson is about causative verbs (hacer and dejar). Is there a causative structure hiding in this sentence?
No, this specific sentence doesn't contain a causative verb; it is just setting the scene using a verb of time. If the illusionist were making the subject do something, then you would see the causative structure you've been practicing, such as lo hace dormir (makes him sleep) or le hace olvidar su nombre (makes him forget his name).
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