Example sentences of "about [verb] [subord] " in BNC.
Next page| No | Sentence |
|---|---|
| 1 | She was about to sit when the steward touched her arm . |
| 2 | She was about to retire when Sarah knocked at her door . |
| 3 | He zipped his fly and was about to go when , and casually , as if he was half expecting it , in some sense he turned , and almost collided with the foreman , who was positioned , his weighty bulk to block the door , at the exit . |
| 4 | I tried the back again , he bladdered it and he bladdered the f front , but says he was just about to go when I opened one eye . |
| 5 | He was about to continue when officials of the embassy came down the steps to greet us . |
| 6 | So it 's a very great honour and privilege for me to address you today because at the end it may be difficult for you to understand but when I return to South Africa , and forgive me for speaking personally I also realize the full meaning of the support of British trade unions and the labour movement and the churches because it was because of your political material and particularly in the case of the G M B , financial and material support that it gave us the means to do what some of us wanted to do about our country and our situation , and bring about change if we could peacefully . |
| 7 | Bob knocked back his coffee , and I was about to stand when he said , ‘ Listen , Alex , I do n't know if I should say this to a poet , but there are some things a damn sight more urgent than the doggerel of a dead country squire . |
| 8 | HOW DOES AMNESTY SET ABOUT ESTABLISHING WHETHER A PRISONER IS INDEED A PRISONER OF CONSCIENCE ? |
| 9 | The party was about to depart when the mother of the dead girl noticed that the earth over the entrance to the tomb had been disturbed , and when she looked more closely she saw that one of the roofing stones had been moved . |
| 10 | Tom closed the door and was about speak when a further rally of knocks was hammered on it and Charlie Ruddles , the warden , strode angrily in . |
| 11 | Matron was about to answer when Tock wagged a bony finger at them . |
| 12 | Stephen was about to answer when Robert went on : ‘ I 've had a very agitated Michael Davis on the phone . |
| 13 | Sergeant Bramble was about to remonstrate when they were interrupted by Constable Quince wheeling his bicycle . |
| 14 | It was just about to stab when Bigwig ran straight into it from behind and knocked it sideways , so that it staggered across the turf with a harsh , raucous cawing of rage . |
| 15 | As the crew neared the still floating aircraft they spotted the pilot nearby , they approached him to bring him on board but he pulled a pistol out and was about to fire when the coxswain shot him . |
| 16 | But a new , slim-line Rizzo could be about to emerge because the company he works for , Staley , of Decatur , Illinois , has developed a cheesecake that , to purloin a phrase , can be part of a calorie-controlled diet . |
| 17 | She shivered as she went to the door , but all at once she recalled what she had been about to do when Benedict Beckenham had made his astonishing appearance . |
| 18 | We were just about to leave when [ the girl ] called to [ the neighbourhood policemen ] . |
| 19 | After crossing himself and pushing two nuns into a car , he was about to leave when Lady Antonia 's companion intervened : ‘ Excuse me Father , ’ he said , ‘ this lady is the daughter of the good Lord Longford — you know , Lord Longford — and she is making a study of the wicked usurper , Oliver Cromwell . ’ |
| 20 | The following day , when Modigliani was due to begin painting his portrait , the writer Michel Georges-Michel paid a visit and was just about to leave when Bakst persuaded him to stay on . |
| 21 | He was about to leave when he was spotted by Franco who called out to him . |
| 22 | I thanked him and was about to leave when he realized he did n't know my name . |
| 23 | She bustled round finishing her jobs and was just about to leave when she noticed that the crepe paper had slipped from Granny 's frame . |
| 24 | The meeting broke up and I was about to leave when a still , quiet voice said to Harold : ‘ Harold , I would much like to talk to you and Arnold by yourselves . ’ |
| 25 | I was about to leave when a thought struck me . |
| 26 | Then she telephoned Eliot at home and after that was about to leave when Shildon came , apologetic and saying he had met somebody who had delayed him . |
| 27 | He was about to leave when the bead curtain was drawn aside and Kafy stood there . |
| 28 | She paced the room , staring out of the window until the view became too monotonous to continue watching , looking at her watch and at the door , and was about to leave when she heard the porter turning the key in the lock . |
| 29 | She had put on her hat and coat and was about to leave when he came up to her with two bunches of violets , so that she was able to press the cigarettes into his hand while taking the flowers from him . |
| 30 | He was about to leave when he froze in an awkward position midway across the room . |