Suppose that yesterday, I had been walking from noon to 4pm. I took a rest at these times: 12:45pm, 1:20pm, 2pm, 2:25pm, and so on. I have written down two similar sentences below.
(1) During my four-hour walk, I took a rest many times.
(2) During my four-hour walk, I rested many times.
Which one is correct?
Both examples are grammatically correct if somewhat formal, as if translated into English by someone who is not a native speaker.
The first requires more words to say the same thing - and brevity is a virtue.
There are other ways to say the same thing, such as:
I rested frequently/often
I frequently/often rested
I took several rests/breaks/rest-breaks
I took a number of rests
I took a rest every so often
I rested every so often
and so on.
They're all idiomatic and a little less formal than your two examples.
Both are valid and neither would mark you out as a non-native speaker. However, "I took a rest many times" seems more natural to me.
