Long

TakaMy father had not been long married before he built the house.

Nope.

TakaMy father had not been married long before he built the house.

Yep.

TakaAnd additional question. Is it possible to omit the "for" below?My father had not been married for a year before he built the house.

Yes. I'd

enoon My father had not been long married before he built the house.Nope.

Right. I was not familiar with "long" being there. But I've found there are many examples of it on Google Books. So I asked the question.

Still, does it sound unnatural to your native ear?

TakaMy father had not been married for a year before he built the house.

This is ambiguous. It could mean he had been married for less than a year when he built the house, or it could mean he had been divorced for a year when he built the house. Removing the for would remove the ambiguity.

TakaMy fathe

Blue JayMy father had not been long married This is not wrong, but it is old-fashioned.

I see. Then what about this? Does it sound as old-fasioned?

My father had not long been married.

Taka enoon My father had not been long married before he built the house.Nope.Right. I was not familiar with "long" being there. But I've found there are many examples of it on Google Books. So I asked the question.Still, does it sound unnatural to your native ear?

I agree with Blue Jay—it is old-fashioned in your sentence. There are times when "long" can be t

enoon "Can you cite some of your googlings, please?

You can google "had not been long married" (with the quotation marks) for yourself here:

books.google.com/

Taka Blue JayMy father had not been long married This is not wrong, but it is old-fashioned.I see. Then what about this? Does it sound as old-fasioned?My father had not long been married.

That's a little better, actually, and I don't know why. You would still need a reason to put it that way and not the natural "My father had not been married long."

Taka enoon "Can you cite some of your googlings, please?You can google "had not been long married" (with the quotation marks) for yourself here:books.google.com/

I'm boycotting Google since they turned evil. They track you.

enoon I'm boycotting Google since they turned evil. They track you.

I've found that the URL is ridiculously long, so I refrain from providing it here. Sorry.

Just one thing, enoon.

Do you find the same kind of ambiguity here as BJ does?

My father had not been married for a year before he built the house.

This is ambiguous. It could mean he had been married for less than a year when he built the house, or it could mean he had been divorced for a year when he built the house. Removing the for would remove the ambiguity.