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"The dorm looked like a prison. (For) how long would he have to live here?"

As far as I know, both are grammatical. But which is more common?

wyc
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    Both patterns "How long ... for?" and "For how long ... ?" are valid, the latter strikes me as rather formal... – Andrew Tobilko Mar 13 '21 at 12:29
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    @AndrewTobilko: Perhaps you think the version with the "fronted" preposition is "rather formal" because only "bureaucratic scriveners" would pay much attention to that old canard about not ending a sentence with a preposition. *Most* informal (*and most common, I bet) would be to not bother with for* at all, rather than fret about whether to put it at the front or the back. – FumbleFingers Mar 13 '21 at 14:17
  • Does this answer your question? For what vs. what ... for – FumbleFingers Mar 13 '21 at 14:32
  • Also https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/how-long-vs-for-how-long.3803485/#post-19427885 – user81561 Mar 13 '21 at 20:14

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"How long would he have to live here?" is certainly more common than "For how long would he have have to live here?"

However, "For how many years would he be living here?" is also good, and conveys that the time feels long enough that measuring in years would be appropriate.

Matt Timmermans
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