spend time to do something (2024)

It doesn't sound idiomatic to say "I spent 10 minutes to eat my meal", it's definitely "I spent 10 minutes eating my meal". However you do say "I took 10 minutes to eat my meal", so that could be the reason for your confusion.

You could also say "I took 10 minutes eating my meal", but the first suggestion would be more usual.

"Teachers spent 10 minutes on giving feedback."

Does that sound better to you?

Both versions work for me, a speaker of AmE.

... he spend let's say 14 percent of the lesson time (in order to) give feedback.

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This last is very helpful because it clarifies why you want to use "to".

We wouldn't say "spent time in order to give feedback", and I wish I could figure out how to clearly explain why. We can "spend time on something", or we can make some arrangement "in order to spend time doing something", but we don't spend time in order to do the thing we spend time on. (You can see that why I worry that my explanation may not be clear.)

The C.I.A. promised to speed the time it took to disseminate information on terrorism suspects, and to increase the number of analysts focused on Yemen.---taken from the NYT

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Dear all,

I know "spend the time to do something" is not idiomatic to your ear, so I think ,in this context, "to"s are following "took". Am I right? Thanks.

LQZ

If I understand you, you are right.

In the idiom "the time it takes/took", took is followed by a to-infinitive ~ the time it took [to disseminate].

Cagey said:

If I understand you, you are right.

In the idiom "the time it takes/took", took is followed by a to-infinitive ~ the time it took [to disseminate].

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I've got it, Cagey, thank you.

Loob said:

There's no "spend" in your extract, LQZ: the verb after "promised" is "speed"...

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Loob, yes, you are absolutely right.

Hello, everyone.

I've seen/heard this construction in the movies many times. My guess is, "to V" is used to refer to an activity that hasn't happened yet. For example, we should spend the time to get to know each other better. This is a line from the sitcom, Abbott Elementary. When the actress said this, she meant "from now on." So the getting-to-know-each-other part has not happened yet. The to is like "in order to."

On the contrary, if we want to describe something that has been done or something that happens regularly, "ving" is used. For example, "I spent only 10 minutes eating my dinner last night" or "I usually spend 10 minutes taking a shower."

Kenny Chang said:

we should spend the time to get to know each other better.

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Well, I wouldn't say that myself, Kenny Chang.

I might say "We should spend the time on getting to know each other better" or "We should take the time to get to know each other better". The choice would depend on the context - but you haven't given us any.

Loob said:

Well, I wouldn't say that myself, Kenny Chang.

I might say "We should spend the time on getting to know each other better" or "We should take the time to get to know each other better". The choice would depend on the context - but you haven't given us any.

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Well, I know the context is important. But sometimes it's not easy to provide it. If it is from a book, I can just copy the words. But sometimes it's from a TV show or a movie, where the facial expressions, gestures, intonation, and the interaction between actors are all involved. I don't know how to provide them in words. 😓