[Grammar] With or without the preposition ‘for’

[northpath]

Recently I ran into a sentence in “The Reader’s Digest”:
My parents have been happily married 30 years.
Is it correct? I think it should be
My parents have been happily married for 30 years.

 

[Rover_KE]

It should be 'My parents have been happily married for 30 years'.

 

[northpath]

Thanks, singulare 'year' was my misprint.

 

[TheParser]

My parents have been happily married 30 years.
Is it correct?

NOT A TEACHER

Hello, Northpath:

I thought that this advice would interest you.

It comes from Michael Swan's Practical English Usage (1995 edition, entry 439.7 on page 452).

"In an informal [my emphasis] style, for is often [my emphasis] left out in expressions that say how long [my emphasis] something lasts."


Mr. Swan's examples:

"I've been here (for) three weeks now."

"How long are you staying (for)?"

*****

I also read the Reader's Digest. As you know, that magazine likes snappy writing (no unnecessary words) so that articles do not bore people.