Example sentences of "happened to [be] [verb] " in BNC.
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1 | You see , I happened to be born in this house , so naturally I take a rather personal interest in its occupants . ’ |
2 | A piece of land where I happened to be born . |
3 | Cork is where I happened to be born . |
4 | He was saved by a radio engineer who had studied in England and who happened to be monitoring the audition . |
5 | ‘ Oh , these woods have seen far worse than Medoc and the Twelve Lords , ’ said Lugh airily , who happened to be listening to this . |
6 | Is that what it is– ’ Or if I was to see the doctor and my girlfriend happened to be seeing the doctor as well , this was just an excuse , according to them , for us to be together . |
7 | And many an insect was saved , perhaps from the very same predator , by an uncannily close resemblance to a twig , on occasions when the predator happened to be seeing it at relatively close range and in a good light . |
8 | Why should the fact that D was engaged on causing damage to property at the time ( even damage to D's own property ) make his conduct into an offence punishable with life imprisonment when , if D were engaged on some other activity , it would not be punishable as such and would only amount to manslaughter if a death happened to be caused ? |
9 | She spent more and more time off her eggs , parading about the yard , cackling as if demented and taking sudden rushes in whatever direction she happened to be facing when each fit of frenzy overcame her . |
10 | But , pushing him aside , she gathered her cloak around her , made so bravely from those two old plush tablecloths , and began to walk downhill — the direction she happened to be facing — until she came to St Jude 's churchyard where she sat on a gravestone , her head in her hands , and shivered . |
11 | Pilkington disliked the impression conveyed that these friendly personalities just happened to be recommending products as though they were disinterested parties . |
12 | As was so often the case , he sucked up nourishment from books he happened to be reading , finding parallels in the lives of characters to his own dilemmas and solutions . |
13 | His intention was to show that the interpretation of Scripture was too complex to be left to whoever happened to be reading it . |
14 | It was one evening when I happened to be valeting him , Mr Charles told me he had come across my father some years earlier while a guest at Loughborough House — the home of Mr John Silvers , the industrialist , where my father served for fifteen years at the height of his career . |
15 | No-one was certain if any hanging had really taken place but on cold , windy nights the tree would creak and moan , startling those who happened to be passing by . |
16 | BBS seriously considered firing Hopper ; the pressure of moving a production team of twenty-three people from state to state , writing the script on the run and persuading innocent citizens of the United States of America who just happened to be passing at the time to appear in the movie , was a heavy burden for all . |
17 | To a large extent , their numbers were made up of tourists , people who happened to be passing by , people with time to kill , and people who simply fancied doing something different . |
18 | And I 'm awfully glad I happened to be passing . |
19 | ‘ I happened to be passing — hope you do n't mind me barging in like this . |
20 | ‘ Well , he does n't sound like anyone I know , ’ I said , ‘ unless he 's a caddie who happened to be passing nearby and wanted to quiz me about any work available . ’ |
21 | Ruth happened to be passing , and Connor stopped her , introducing the young man . |
22 | Just happened to be passing , you know the sort of thing . ’ |
23 | ‘ Oh , he said he happened to be passing — you know , just popped in to see how I was , what a shame I 'd left NCPR . ’ |
24 | A NETWORK hack and photographer happened to be passing by when they spotted a well-known accountant checking the INROADS mat . |
25 | And then they 'd throw you to whatever man happened to be passing for the money you 'd earn for them . ’ |
26 | This , to the wonder of anyone who happened to be passing , was Islamic dancing . |
27 | The puppet is an exhibit at a cartoon gallery in the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford and the real Mr Heseltine just happened to be passing through . |
28 | His father happened to be passing , shortly after the attack , but when he went to help , he did n't recognise his own son . |
29 | Tom 's life was slipping away , but by sheer luck Joyce Miller , a nurse who works in the intensive care unit at Cheltenham General hospital , happened to be passing . |
30 | Bishop Farquhar said that it was a matter of history which part of that circle happened to be passing by as it cut through the life of the Edwards family . |