I have read a children's book for language learners. It's a book from the Oxford Reading Tree series. There is a character who goes to the dentist, and when she comes back home she says:
"Sorry I was a long time."
I want to ask what's the difference between:
I took a long time
and
I was a long time.
Is there any difference in meaning? Is this phrase
"I was a long time"
more native?
The outcome of the two statements means the same thing (a long time passed) but there is a different inference.
I was a long time.
There could be so many different reasons why you were a long time. Maybe you got delayed by something or someone, or maybe you created the delay yourself.
I took a long time.
"Take" is a verb and the action is your own. If you took a long time it implies that you deliberately took your time, perhaps lingering, taking a detour, or just acting slowly.
Well, you are not lucky with any of those sentences. None of them really makes sense in English. I assume that the first sentence was (supposed to be) actually:
Sorry, it was a long time.
But even then, it is not OK (the reason for striking it). It is going to be good if you say:
(Sorry,) it took a long time.
A correct alternative to the first sentence would be:
Sorry, I was gone for a long time.
