Example sentences of "[conj] [noun] had [verb] [prep] [be] " in BNC.
Next page| No | Sentence |
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| 1 | It had been an end , where Jay had yearned to be sure — had been sure ? what a fool believes ? — it would be a beginning . |
| 2 | Although Stockholm was the base for spies of every warring nation , the Scandinavian connection that Foley had talked about was run by Norway , whose government-in-exile had set up in the neutral city . |
| 3 | The Vancouver stations were run down — and two were demolished — once Vancouver had ceased to be the main portal to the Orient with the ending of the passenger shipping services . |
| 4 | There was a lot of laughter , not the least when someone asked the whereabouts of Alan and Joy , and I said that Alan had gone to be induced ! |
| 5 | The second view is that Judas told the chief priests that Jesus had claimed to be some sort of Messiah ; perhaps one who would lead a rebellion against the Romans . |
| 6 | ‘ You may have thought that things had gotten to be as bad as they could get , but Mr Koons ' show proves you were wrong , ’ wrote one particularly shrill reviewer . |
| 7 | When she and the twins had visited the hospital this morning Laura had been upset to note that Liz had seemed to be deeply depressed . |
| 8 | He alleged that the private sector had received 80 per cent of the money and it was here that loans had failed to be repaid . |
| 9 | No story better illustrates the importance of the English-speaking world that Britain had brought into being , than James Flanagan 's reception . |
| 10 | Since diplomacy largely revolved around the family relationships of princely dynasties this meant that children had to expect to be betrothed early — and occasionally even married early . |
| 11 | It might 've helped if Ivor had bothered to be here . ’ |
| 12 | Preliminary work had also been done during the war on the ideas for the social security scheme , and plans had begun to be drafted for a national health service . |
| 13 | The Union of the Crowns did not mean that England and Scotland had ceased to be separate countries . |
| 14 | It was unfair , because last time he had been in the thick of the fighting when the message came , and Tuathal had fought to be beside him . |
| 15 | Limping awkwardly to the window , he watched Tom fight his way through the snow in the farmyard , and he thought of how close he and Carrie had come to being caught in bed together . |
| 16 | That wedding between Liz and Owen had proved to be a watershed in all their lives . |
| 17 | Dates and September and October had proved to be difficult and beyond that , it would be a very belated welcome . |
| 18 | A long time ago , Alice thought , as she heard the arrival of the first of Félix 's dinner guests , she and Harry had longed to be rich in order to buy themselves a house which they could share . |
| 19 | He subsequently conceded that the views of English formed in the course of his own education at Edinburgh and Oxford had come to be modified in terms of " Cambridge " notions . |
| 20 | Nigel was looking forward to the occasion and Gina had promised to be especially nice and polite as long as she could have one of her friends there to make up a foursome . |
| 21 | But then , if IRS had wanted to be scrupulously honest , they 'd have had to call the compilation ‘ A Cynical Attempt To Cash In On R.E.M . 's Current Popularity By Fobbing Off Yet Another Collection of Old Songs As Some Kind Of Definitive Statement ’ . |
| 22 | Fintan said it was not the stories but the poteen , and it was only three nights since Cermait had had to be carried to bed . |
| 23 | The truth was , she thought with a pang , that since Paul had ceased to be part of her life she had n't felt the desire or the need for any kind of social life , apart from the occasional visit to a pub with colleagues . |
| 24 | These careful excavations were followed up by archaeologists , who were ceasing to be treasure-hunters , just as geologists had ceased to be fossil-hunters ; both were now concerned with dating and provenance , and the reconstruction of past epochs . |
| 25 | She was a Gaby Muir , just as Patricia had come to be a Patricia . |