Last vs. Take

Last and Take can be interchangeably used in many circumstances when it comes to the duration of time. In some cases they cannot because they are different in usage. And of course with the first use, they may have a subtle difference in meaning. What follows is a clarification about the difference between the two verbs:

Last is usually intransitive and the subject is the thing to be finished.

It is used to talk about the certain length of time an event continues for.Notice that it focuses on a thing or an event:

- My exercise lasted around two hours.
- His trip to Los Angles lasted two weeks.

Take is a transitive verb which is used to talk about the amount of time you need in order to go somewhere or to do something.It is commonly used in an idiomatic expression:

It takes (noun or pronoun)+(time)+(to infinitive).

- It took me three hours to get there.
- How long will the flight take?
- The game took her less than an hour to finish.

Notice that:

1- pronoun can not come with last .So, in the sentences 1&3 last cannot be used instead of take.

2- We use take when we concern with the length of time .last is a more mere observation.

- It took him only one day to complete the article.Wow,how fast he was finished
- The building took 2 years to be built. Ugh. It was a very long time.

Last for a period of time

Last
To continue for a lentgh of time.

- The operation lasted around four hours.
- The drought lasted for two years.
- They said the war would only last a few months.

Take
If something takes a certain amount of time,that's the amount of time require to do it.

- Since the roads were bad,the journey took us a long time.
- The game took her less than one hour to finish.
- I heard an appeal could take years.

To know more about the difference between last and take,click here

Run (for,through)
Of a play,show,film and etc, to continue being performed or shown regularly in one place for the public.

- The exhibit runs through May at the Museum of Art.
- The play ran for two months at Broadway.
- The new TV series run for four months.

Run on
If an event runs on,it continues for longer than expected.

- The game/speech/show ran on for hours.

Go on for
of something boring or unpleasant,lasting longer than you expect.

- His conversation went on for hours.
- The chairman's speech went on for what seemed like hours.
- After a furious argument we stopped speaking to each other and the situation went on for weeks.

Extend over
If an event or activity extends over a period of time,it continues for that time.

- My contract's been extended for a year.
- The peace negotiations extended for two years.
- His writing courses extended over four years.