Breakdown of Tardan un mes en tallar la figura de madera.
de
of
un
a, an, some
en
in / on / by (means of transport) / about (after pensar)
el mes
the month
la madera
the wood
tardar
to take (time)
tallar
to carve
la figura
the figure
Questions & Answers about Tardan un mes en tallar la figura de madera.
Why do we use en right before tallar?
This sentence uses the structure tardar + amount of time + en + infinitive. This is how Spanish expresses taking a certain amount of time to do something. Even though English says to take a month TO carve, Spanish requires the preposition en before the action verb.
Where is the word for they in this sentence?
Why is wooden translated as de madera?
In English, you can easily turn a noun into an adjective just by placing it before another noun, like wooden figure. Spanish does not do this. Instead, you use the preposition de (of) followed by the material, which literally translates to figure of wood.
Could I change the word order and say Tardan en tallar la figura de madera un mes?
Yes, you will sometimes hear the time expression moved to the end, but the order shown here is much more natural and common. It is best to stick to the pattern of keeping the amount of time (un mes) wedged right between tardar and en.
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