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Yes, as it is said in a previous answer Sono qui da trentun anni is correct, while Sono qui da trentuno anni is awkward. Between the following, which one is correct?

Sono qui da anni trentun.

Sono qui da anni trentuno.

If both are wrong, can anyone explain why?

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    The truncation (apocope) can be made only before a word. Anyway, people would raise their eyebrows on hearing sono qui da anni trentuno. – egreg♦ Nov 9 '13 at 23:46
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Both are wrong, but to correct them, it's necessary to know what you want to say.
If you want to say "I'm here (= I live here) for thirty years", then it's Sono qui da trentun anni.
If you want to say "I'm here since the 1930s (or, maybe, 1830s)," then it should be Sono qui dagli anni Trenta.

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  • Is the capitalization of "Trenta" the correct form when referring to a decade? – d11wtq Nov 10 '13 at 3:59
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    @d11wtq Generally speaking, yes. The rule is to capitalize the names of centuries and decades of the XX century (I hope you understand that "the 1830s" in my answer was a joke): il Cinquecento, gli anni Settanta. Note that the word anni is sometimes omitted, thus, capitalization helps to show that one refers to a specific period. Nonetheless, this rule is often waived recently, especially when referring to the 2000s: I've seen both gli anni Zero and gli anni zero, the latter being even more common. – I.M. Nov 10 '13 at 9:27
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I have heard the inversion between anni and the number in similar sentences, in formal documents (La qui presente Rossi Giovanna di anni 41 […].); sometimes it was used in other contexts for emphasis.

It's not the normal order used in Italian, but I would not call it wrong.

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  • 1
    Rossi Giovanna, di anni quarantuno is bureaucratic and you forgot to invert the names. ;-) In olden times, we were taught at school to say la base è centimetri tre, but this disputable, if not wrong, usage is declining. – egreg♦ Nov 9 '13 at 23:44

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