Putting in Time with Metterci

Volerci

When speaking in neutral terms about how long something takes, we can use the verb volere. We might say, for example:

Ci vuole poco tempo per andare dalla stazione in centro (it doesn't take much time to go from the train station to the center of town).

We can add a personal pronoun (ti = you in this case) to make it more personal:

Ti vorranno cinque minuti per andare dalla stazione in centro (it will take you five minutes to go from the train station to the center of town).

We talk about the pronominal verb volerci in a previous lesson, so check it out. 

Metterci

We have another way to say something similar with the verb mettere (to put).

This pronominal verb is a bit more personal. We can conjugate it any way we like. It's also a bit easier to grasp. The main verb is mettere (to put). So if we stretch the meaning a bit, we can think of putting in a certain amount of time in order to do something.

With volerci, we may talk about how long it takes to get to the train station — on average. But with metterci, we're talking about how long it takes a certain person to do something.

Non capisco come mai ci metti tanto ad arrivare.

I don't understand how come you're taking so long to get here.

Caption 8, Marika spiega Come - Part 2

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OK. Cerca di non metterci una vita però, eh.

OK. Try not to put in a whole life (to take all day), though, huh.

Caption 60, Provaci ancora prof! S1E1 - Il regalo di Babbo Natale - Part 23

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So if I am late for a meeting, I might say:

C'ho messo un sacco di tempo per parcheggiare (it took me a long time to park). 

For more about the verb mettere (to put) see this lesson.  For more on how pronominal verbs work, see this lesson.  For more about the particle ci, used in both volerci and metterci see this lesson.