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For example I want to say "I ran 5km in 23mins 59 secs" or "It took me 23mins 59 secs to run 5k" or "It took me an hour to tidy my room" etc etc etc.

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It's possibly a little different for each of your examples even though they mean the same thing. However, the ones with "took" seem to emphasize more effort than the ones with "in", so it depends if you want to focus on that or not.

  • I ran 5km in 23mins 59secs　→　23分59秒 で 5キロメートル走った
  • It took me 23mins 59 secs to run 5k　→　5キロメートル走るのに23分59秒 かかった
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Ah, thanks a lot :) As for the first one, I didn't know the de particle can be used like that, cheers. – Jamal Feb 22 at 15:41
Can someone help me? Does the 5キロメートル走る need an を or not? It looks correct with it one minute, then incorrect the next. Would it only need the を if it were something like 5キロメートルの距離? – istrasci Feb 22 at 15:45
@Jamal: Look at definition 7 HERE for that usage of で. – istrasci Feb 22 at 15:47
Thanks istrasci, I've actually never been on this the yahoo dictionary, however it looks pretty useful. – Jamal Feb 22 at 16:03
@istrasci: Maybe I am mistaking, but I thought that 〜のに is only used to say: "Although". So it can be used also in other situations? – Andry Feb 23 at 19:01
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