Let’s have a look at a couple of useful expressions that we use when we’re discussing time:

1. quanto tempo ci vuole? –  This common expression is used in an impersonal sense to mean ‘how much time is needed?’ e.g.: quanto tempo ci vuole per fare il pane in casa? – how much time is needed to make bread at home? or: quanto tempo ci vuole per andare a Parma in macchina? – how much time is needed to drive to Parma in the car?

The reply would be ci vogliono due ore (per fare il pane in casa) – you need two hours (literally: two hours are needed), or ci vuole mezz’ora (per andare a Parma in macchina) – you need half an hour (literally: half an hour is needed). As you can see, the answer can be in the plural ‘vogliono’ as in the first example, or the singular ‘vuole’ as in the second example, depending on the reply.

2. quanto tempo ci metti/mette? has the more personal sense of how long does it take you/it? As usual, this is easier to illustrate with examples: quanto tempo ci metti per fare il pane in casa? – how long do you take to make bread at home? or quanto tempo ci metti per andare a Parma in macchina? – how long do you take to drive to Parma?

We can use the same expression for things such as i mezzi publici – buses, trains etc.: l’autobus per Parma, quanto ci mette? – how long does the bus to Parma take? or quanto ci mette il traghetto da Livorno alla Sardegna? – how long does the ferry take from Livorno to Sardinia?

The reply depends on who or what is doing the action of ‘taking time’: ci metto due ore (per fare il pane in casa) – I take two hours, or ci metto mezz’ora (per andare a Parma in macchina) – I take half an hour, or l’autobus per Parma ci mette quaranta minuti – the bus to Parma takes forty minutes. Note that this time the reply remains in the singular because we are talking about how much time I take – ci metto or it (the bus) takes – ci mette, and not how many minutes or hours are needed, i.e. ci vuole un minuto – one minute is needed, ci vogliono due minuti – two minutes are needed, etc.

To finish with, a few example in the past tense:

1. quanto tempo ci vuole? – ‘how much time is needed?’ becomes quanto tempo ci è voluto? – ‘how much time was needed/did it/you need?’, e.g. quanto tempo ci è voluto per fare il pane in casa? -how much time did it/you need to make bread at home?

Once again, the reply will be in the singular: ci è voluta un’ora (per fare il pane in casa) – I needed an hour/an hour was needed, or the plural: ci sono volute due ore – I needed two hours/two hours were needed

2. quanto tempo ci metti/mette? – how long do you/does it take? becomes quanto tempo ci hai/ha messo? – how long did it take you/it?, e.g. quanto tempo ci hai messo per fare il pane in casa? – how long did you take to make bread at home? or quanto tempo ci hai messo per andare a Parma in macchina? – how long did you take to drive to Parma? or l’autobus per Parma, quanto ci ha messo? – how long did the bus take to get to Parma? or quanto ci ha messo il traghetto da Livorno alla Sardegna? – how long did the ferry take from Livorno to Sardinia?