Learn English – “take too long” vs “take a long time”

grammar

As far as I know "take too long " and "take a long time " are different. And I once read two examples on Internet they considered to be incorrect.As follows :

1)Let's plan on using email to inform the client, because regular mail (takes a long time) .

2)Please expect for the project to be completed by 2013 because creating an index (takes too long).

Correct Ans: 1) takes too long 2) take a long time

My question is, why those are incorrect? what's the difference? Would anybody give me detailed explanations?

Best Answer

Take a long time is an idiom, a special meaning of take referring to duration of some event.

  • The train took a long time to pass.

It's one version of the Event take Duration idiom

  • Making egg rolls takes all day ~ It takes all day to make egg rolls.

Take too long uses the same durational sense of take, but the too marks it as a Negative.
Too Adjective means 'so Adjective that Not S, where Not S is some negative outcome.

  • He was too sick to come. = He was so sick that he didn't come.

Thus take too long means 'take so much time that something is wrong'.

  • The train took too long to pass.

means that it was slow, or it was late, or the drivers honked their horns at it, or the speaker was irritated, or something -- details are not always specified. But something was out of expectation.

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