# Asking about duration



## stelingo

Ahoj!

How would you ask 'How long does it take you to get to work?'
And answer 'It takes me 10 mins by car or 1/2 hour on foot'


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## Trottel

Ahoj,
"Jak dlouho ti to trvá (dostat se) do práce?"
"(Trvá mi to) 10 minut autem nebo půl hodiny pěšky."


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## stelingo

Thanks. Would it also be correct to say:
Za jak dlouho jezdiš do práce? Jezdím za 10 minut autem nebo půl hodiny pěšky.


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## Enquiring Mind

Not with the "za" at the front.  If you scroll down this page http://www.zpovednice.cz/detail.php?statusik=330600 you'll find lots of people answering that question (4) in different ways (the Czech isn't always 100% correct, some people are using non-standard forms, and there are typos).


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## stelingo

So it should be: Jak dlouho jezdiš do práce? Jezdím 10 minut autem nebo půl hodiny pěšky?


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## Trottel

No. We use "jezdit" only for vehicles (and horses) in Czech and for people we use "chodit". So it could be: "Jak dlouho ti to trvá do práce?" "Jezdím 10 minut autem nebo chodím půl hodiny pěšky."


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## Enquiring Mind

The answer isn't strictly correct as it stands, though it would certainly be understood.

"Jezdit" means to go/travel (regularly, habitually, repeatedly) _by some form of transport_, so when you introduce the "on/by foot" idea, the equivalent is "chodit", and it would be "Jezdím 10 minut autem, nebo chodím půl hodiny pěšky." This is rather bland, and you probably don't need the "pěšky" because it's implicit in the "chodit", (just as in English you wouldn't need to say "half an hour when I walk _on foot_"). 

If you want to bring out the emphasis, it might be (something like) "(Jezdím) 10 (deset) minut autem, nebo pěšky chodím půl hodiny."  Note the change of word order (Czech does this a lot for emphasis - it's a fascinating topic, but not the subect of this thread). So reflecting the new emphasis, the sentence would read in English "Ten minutes by car, but when/if I walk/go on/by foot - half an hour."

There are, of course, many different ways of saying it, as you may have noticed in the link in my previous answer.


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## bibax

_Jak dlouho (už) jezdíš do práce?_ is quite confusing.

I should understand: _Kolik let (už) jezdíš do práce?_


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## jazyk

So would I.


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## stelingo

Much food for thought. So which would be the most natural way to ask the question?
Jak dlouho ti to trvá (dostat se) do práce? or _Jak dlouho (už) jezdíš do práce_?
The latter is used in the link posted by Enquiring Mind.


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## Enquiring Mind

I'd certainly agree with bibax and jazyk that "jak dlouho jezdíš do práce?" could be confusing as a question without any context, and it wouldn't be my first choice either - maybe "jak dlouho Ti trvá cesta do práce?"    Cf: "Jak dlouho jezdíš do Prahy?" How long (for how many years) have you been coming/going to Prague?      As always, context is everything and I guess it would be clear from the context which meaning is meant.     It would also be interesting to know why you originally asked the question in that particular form. Maybe it's a grammar exercise designed to test whether the person understands the jezdit/chodit distinction, maybe it's an exercise designed to test constructions asking about time, maybe it's not a grammar exercise at all.      If the question had been "What's the best/most natural way to ask 'how long does it take you to get to work?' in Czech?", I would certainly have opted for one of the other variations offered in the thread.


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## stelingo

I was simply translating the question word for word from Russian. I was hoping the construction would be similar in both languages. But I guess in this case, it doesn't work.


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## Enquiring Mind

At the risk of being accused of flogging a dead horse, but for the sake of answering your query, you definitely can't say "Jak dlouho *už* jezdíš do práce?" to ask how long it takes to get to work.

Introducing the "už" turns it into the construction bibax and jazyk pointed out. It would mean "How long have you been using some form of transport to get to work (now)?" (as opposed to walking/swimming/flying etc)


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