核心问题
In July, 1789, the Revolution started in France. The poor of the cities and the peasants in the country, having lived such a hard life for so long, took up their guns and knives and began to kill the rich nobles.
许多英语语法书都指出, for long 只能用于否定句与疑问句, 为什么上面的 for so long 用在肯定句中了呢?
词典解答
当 long 受副词(so, very, too, enough)修饰时, for so (very, too, enough) long 也可用于肯定句中:
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I apologize for keeping you waiting so long. 我让你等了那么长的时间,我向你道歉。
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You've been sleeping too long/long enough. 你睡得太久了[你睡的时间够长了]。
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We had worked together for so long ... (Hillary, Living History) 我们一起工作了这么久……(希拉里，《亲历历史》)