Breakdown of ¿Cuánto tiempo tardas en modelar el barro?
en
in / on / by (means of transport) / about (after pensar)
el tiempo
the time
cuánto
how much
tardar
to take (time)
Questions & Answers about ¿Cuánto tiempo tardas en modelar el barro?
Why is there an en before modelar?
To express how long it takes to do something, Spanish uses the structure tardar + amount of time + en + infinitive verb. You can think of it literally as asking how much time you delay in doing an action.
The lesson formula is tardar + time + en + infinitive, but here the time comes first. Why?
Because this is a question! The time portion of the formula is represented by the question words cuánto tiempo. Since question words must go at the beginning of the sentence, they are pulled to the front, leaving the remaining pieces (tardas en modelar) right next to each other.
The English translation uses the word take. Can I use the verb tomar instead of tardar here?
Doesn't barro usually mean mud?
Yes, barro translates to mud, but it is also the standard, everyday word used for clay or earthenware in the context of pottery and ceramics. You might also encounter the word arcilla, which is a more specific or technical term for clay.