"Me hacía mucha falta tomarme un descanso"

"Me hacía mucha falta tomarme un descanso"
 

What does "Me hacía mucha falta tomarme un descanso" mean?
I think it translates to "I really needed to take a break", but I'm unsure as to how it does.

(1) What does "mucha falta" mean?
(2) What does "hacía" mean?
(3) Why did they use "tomarme"?

"Hace falta" means "[it] is necessary" - literally "it makes a lack". "Me hace falta" means that I need something. "Me hacía falta" puts it into the imperfect tense. "Me hacía mucha falta" intensifies. So "I really needed ....".

I'm not sure why "tomarme un descanso" - I'd use descansarme or echar una siesta. I'll leave that one to someone else.

This is very common to say "tomar" in the sense of "do" in some occasions. For instance:

Es necesario tomarse un descanso a media mañana para desayunar.
Necesito tomarme unas vacaciones pronto.
Tómatelo con calma (= no vayas tan deprisa o no te pongas tan nervioso), no trabajes tanto o te pondrás enfermo.
Me voy a tomar unos días de fiesta porque no puedo más.

I think you also use "take" in some occasions:

tomarse unos días de descanso = take some days off
tomarse en serio = take seriously

Or am I wrong? :thinking:

Thanks

You're welcome :)

By the way, how could I say "tómate el tiempo necesario"? :thinking:

Tómate el tiempo necesario para pensar si cambias de trabajo
Take your time to think about change your job :confused:

Take as long as you need.

OK, thanks.