In 1970 I had been married ten years.

[diamondcutter]

In 1970 I had been married ten years.

This is just a sample sentence from a book named "Tips on Learning English for Chinese" by Lu Shuxiang. The English name of the book is my translation.

I’d like to know if this sentence is correct. I mean if we can use a past time like “in 1970” with the past perfect tense.

 

[5jj]

We can. Being married for ten years is not a single action; it is a state that has duration up to a time point.

 

[diamondcutter]

Can I rewrite the sentence like this?

Up to 1970 I had been married ten years.

 

[5jj]

No.

The 'up to' makes little sense here.

 

[emsr2d2]

You need a comma after "In 1970". You would have needed one after "Up to 1970" too, if that sentence had been grammatical, which it isn't.

Note that I have changed your thread title. Titles should include some/all of the words/phrases/sentences you want us to consider. Your actual question should appear only in the main body of your post.

 

[jutfrank]

The time phrase In 1970 expresses the final point in time of the period. The sentence is saying that at that point in time, ten years had passed.

 

[Tdol]

Can I rewrite the sentence like this?

Up to 1970 I had been married ten years.

Are you talking about divorce or death? If not, it's a highly unnatural sentence, and probably could be better phrased in those circumstances.