Example sentences of "it [was/were] not for [art] " in BNC.

  Next page
No Sentence
1 Compaq Computer Corp 's first quarter earnings were better than the highest of Wall Street estimates and some analysts said that if it were not for a negative impact from currency translations , profits would have been a bit higher still .
2 ( 148 ) If it were not for an old professor who made me read the classics I would have been stymied .
3 The clumsiness is evident in the standard of ‘ the reasonable man ’ , an anthropomorphic ( and male ) standard which might be taken to suggest a paragon of virtue if it were not for the context of partially exculpating a killing by such a person .
4 If it were not for the fact that he was one of the favourites you 'd have been delighted but as a Gold Cup winner I had to feel a bit disappointed .
5 If it were not for the debilitating character question , Clinton would surely have a fair chance of beating Bush .
6 This would be a useful feature if it were not for the fact that a certain amount of vaginal discharge is perfectly normal and natural for a woman in her reproductive years ; and what is more , this natural discharge is subject to a fair amount of variation depending on the stage of the menstrual cycle .
7 This would not matter very much ( for it would always be possible for individual candidates to prove the expectation wrong ) , if it were not for the fact that whole papers in the final examination , or certain questions on papers , are to be ‘ differentiated ’ .
8 If it were not for the hollow bones the 30-ton creature would have required inordinate amounts of energy , and thus more food , to move around .
9 Yet if it were not for the eclipses of May , June and November , Pisceans might think they could get off comparatively lightly .
10 ‘ We will open on Friday , Saturday and Sunday throughout the summit with a big display showing the prices that would be charged if it were not for the Common Agricultural Policy , ’ says a spokesman .
11 Ironically , the Great War would not have been the war that it was if it were not for the machine .
12 ‘ requiring a seat belt ’ Means per regulation 6 of the Motor Vehicles ( wearing of Seat Belts ) Regulation 1982 : ‘ The classes of vehicle mentioned in regulation 4 are ( a ) a vehicle to which Regulation 46 of the Construction and Use Regulations applies ( see later ) ; and ( b ) a vehicle which is equipped with anchorage points and seat belts and to which that Regulation would apply if it were not for the circumstances that the vehicle —
13 From what has been said above , it will be clear that the Oxford English Dictionary Department would not be what it is , if it were not for the Supplement project lying at the heart of its work .
14 Even so , as Arnold Freeman argued in Boy Life and Labour ( 1914 ) if it were not for the admittedly frail system of compulsory schooling , ‘ we should be manufacturing a race of hooligans who would make our existing civilisation an impossibility ’ .
15 But why ( if it were not for the fact that one is a Christian ) should one be wanting to stay with the experience of women within the biblical tradition ?
16 He did not enjoy such visits now , and would have been tempted to abandon them if it were not for the fact that people might gossip .
17 If it were not for the scenes written after his marriage , The Elder Statesman would have been by far the grimmest play he had ever written .
18 He also remarked , significantly : If it were not for the Union , I venture to think that women would be all over the London trade .
19 He would have laughed if it were not for the echo of the screaming in his head .
20 And in this case it seems likely that even if it were not for the depressed state of aggregate demand in the British market , the commodities produced by Talbot at Linwood would not have generated ‘ sufficient ’ profit for Peugeot .
21 Well , Mrs. Jewkes , if it were not for the thought of that cursed parson I believe in my heart , so great is my weakness , that I could yet forgive this intriguing little slut and take her to my bosom .
22 It is rather unexpectedly glutinous and flabby to the touch — all-in-all rather unpleasant , if it were not for the splash of vivid yellow it gives to an otherwise sombre winter hedgerow .
23 It would be idle to speculate on what the figures might have been if it were not for the security situation .
24 If it were not for the possibility of physical delivery of the underlying cash market good by the seller of the futures contract to the buyer , there would be no mechanism to guarantee convergence of futures and spot prices .
25 The Rev Aaron Longwe , who has been detained and tortured by the regime for speaking out about corruption , told a gathering of former missionaries at the Kirk 's headquarters in Edinburgh : ‘ If it were not for the Church of Scotland some of us would have been dead by now . ’
26 If it were not for the uninspiring mug-shots of individual candidates on the bleak official hoardings and the mercifully brief ( maximum one minute ) party political broadcasts on radio and television , one would hardly know that an election was on .
27 One horse had detached itself and ambled towards the line of protesters but it was not for a moment that Meredith realised , with a pang of dismay , that it was Blazer carrying Harriet .
28 However , despite being framed as a negative provision , the House of Lords held that the clause was unenforceable as it lacked certainty in that it was not for a fixed period of duration .
29 If it was not for the Grand Slam tournaments and the unique place they hold in the game , I am sure we would be losing this vital battle . ’
30 If Lord Chandos commissioned operas from Handel , it was not for the public 's enjoyment .
  Next page