You did an art project that is very detailed and took a long time. You're showing the art to a friend, and they are amazed by it. You want to express how long it took and how much work you put into it. You say:
It took a lot of patience.
it took (something)(to do something)
You say "it took ___" to express what was needed to do something. For example:
It took two weeks to pack up all of our stuff for the move.
This means that you used two weeks for packing, and those two weeks were needed to do it. You use "it took ___" in a similar way for other qualities. For example:
It took a lot of courage for you to speak in front of such a large audience.
It took years and years of practice to get this good.
The structure of "it took..." works like this:
It took (something) for (someone)(to do something)
It took five years for the Nelsons to pay back the loan.
That tells what quality, who needed it, and why they needed it. Or you can say:
It took (something)(to do something)
It took five years to pay back the loan.
Use this when it's already obvious who you're talking about. And you can also say:
It took (something)
It took five years.
This is how the example at top is written. Use this when you already know who did it and what they did.
patience
"Patience" is a quality that some people have. It's the ability to wait for the things they want, or to keep working hard on something without getting frustrated.
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