Last and take

The verbs “to last” and “to take” are often confused. Do you know when to use which one? Try to complete the following sentences with the correct form of either last or take.

1. The movie ______________ 2 hours.
2.  It will _____________ 2 minutes for you to walk from the train station to the bus stop.

These descriptions should help you:

Last means that something continues or remains in a certain state. Last best fits sentence one above, “The movie lasts 2 hours.”

Here are a few more example sentences:

• Madonna’s fans were disappointed that her concert only lasted 1 1/2 hours.
• This battery will last all day.

Take refers to how much time, money or resources are required for something. Take best fits sentence two above, “It will take 2 minutes for you to walk from the train station to the bus stop.”

Here are a few more example sentences:

• It takes forever to get from one end of town to the other with all the construction work.
• Learning this will take practice.

Note that we do NOT say we need a certain amount of time to go somewhere (e.g. NOT “I need 10 minutes to walk to the post office,” but “It takes me 10 minutes to walk to the post office.”)

Now try this quiz to test your understanding.