what it takes
201
4.1
- idiom
:
lo necesario
- The coach explained what it takes to excel in the game: practice, teamwork, and dedication.
- know what it takes
- get what it takes
- learn what it takes
It's about what it takes to push your buttons.
- It's about what it takes to push your buttons.
- And that actually is what it takes to mitigate pricing.
- Like no matter what it takes, I'm changing right now.
- He he understands what it takes to make the organization great.
- And I'm willing to not grow a beard if that's what it takes to stay relevant.
- You have to somehow teach them what it takes to measure what you care about.
- And I think I have what it takes to be a sexy wombat.
- So in the last four years, what it takes to buy a home has almost doubled.
- So this is what it takes when you're stuck on a problem.
- So I wanted to understand what it takes to create an effective product.
- This is what it takes for a relationship.
Examples
-
I learned a lot about what it takes to be successful.
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I really think you have what it takes.
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You will achieve in four months what it takes them a year to achieve.
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I do have what it takes for other things.
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I know that we have what it takes to tackle those challenges.
-
So in the last four years, what it takes to buy a home has almost doubled.
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I'm sure you know exactly what it takes to be a good director.
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The Maryland example shows us what it takes to improve our practice.
Academic text (2015) -
People don't really realize what it takes to win, right?
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Anyone who works with me has got to do what it takes to write a first-class thesis.
Fiction book (1995)
Synonyms
∞
1.0
Skill or power to do something
∞
1.0
Ability to do something well because of practice or training
107
3.4
A skill, certificate or experience that makes someone suitable for a job
Antonyms
How Prepared
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is compositionally related to its parts: 'take' in the sense of 'require' plus the interrogative 'what' yields 'what is required', but this requires recognizing 'it' as a dummy subject and the non-literal sense of 'take'. Because understanding depends on knowing this particular verb sense and the idiomatic syntactic pattern (which may not be obvious to all B1 learners), the expression is partially but not fully predictable from its constituents.
Etymology
The phrase what it takes comes from the image of someone checking their tools and materials before starting a job. Imagine a builder making sure they have a hammer, nails and wood — if they do, they 'have what it takes' to finish the work, so the phrase now means 'necessary qualities' or the skills to 'succeed'.