él tardó

took (a long time), was late

→ tardar
tard delay + ó 3rd-person singular past tense
verb · third singular · past indicative Uncommon #20,803
took (a long time), was late Third-person singular in the past (preterite): “he/she/it took… / was late.”
SP: El autobús tardó mucho en llegar.
EN: The bus took a long time to arrive.
Conjugation of tardar
Indicative past
SingularPlural
First tardé tardamos
Third tardó tardaron

Tardó un rato largo en volver.

It took him a long time to return.

El vuelo tardó diez horas.

The flight took ten hours.

Ella tardó mucho en escribir el informe.

It took her a long time to write the report.

La ayuda internacional tardó semanas en llegar a la zona afectada.

International aid took weeks to reach the affected area.

La compañía de seguros tardó tres meses en resolver la reclamación.

The insurance company took three months to resolve the claim.

No tardó mucho tiempo.

It didn’t take long.

Tardó menos de diez minutos en resolver el problema complejo.

It took him less than ten minutes to solve the complex problem.

Eso no tardó mucho tiempo.

That didn't take long.

El punto es que tardó un poco en conseguir el dinero.

The point is that it took him a while to get the money.

— Bullet Train (2022)

Tardó varias semanas para recuperarse del choque.

It took him several weeks to recover from the crash.

No tardó en contarme algo importante.

It didn't take long for them to tell me something important.

— Jugada maestra (2026)

Sólo nos tardó quince minutos acabar el trabajo.

It only took us fifteen minutes to finish the job.

Tardó cinco minutos en llegar a la estación.

It took five minutes to get to the station.

Ella tardó mucho tiempo en escoger un sombrero.

It took her a long time to choose a hat.

Tom tardó diez años en terminar su casa.

It took Tom ten years to finish his house.

El olor tardó en irse varios años.

The smell took several years to go away.

— Stalker (1979)