Example sentences of "he had [verb] to be " in BNC.
Next page| No | Sentence |
|---|---|
| 1 | He had grown to be a mighty warrior , a great sorcerer and an excellent general . |
| 2 | Lately , however , he had begun to be curious about her — almost against his will . |
| 3 | She knew she had nothing to feel guilty about despite her attraction to Luke , having resisted him , but his relationship with Cavell was none of her business really , and whether Luke finally confessed that he had intended to be unfaithful or Cavell discovered it for herself , she did n't want to have to feel responsible for any eventual break-up . |
| 4 | Dalgliesh suspected that he had hoped to be a member . |
| 5 | He had wanted to be a Napoleon and special . |
| 6 | He had wanted to be a vet , but all his plans had come to nothing . |
| 7 | He had wanted to be alone while he wrote tomorrow 's vital speech to the Conservative conference . |
| 8 | He had wanted to be more noticed as a child . |
| 9 | Mr Bouverie was a solicitor , Peter said , but he had wanted to be a priest , had intended to try for ordination if cancer had not prevented it . |
| 10 | At his favourite monastery of Grandmont , where in 1170 he had wanted to be buried , he met Count Audebert of La Marche . |
| 11 | They were afraid that he would be unhappy about their success , because he had wanted to be a writer himself . |
| 12 | He had wanted to be sure before tackling Mary Penrose ; now he was . |
| 13 | Still half asleep he smiled indulgently , scenting a victory , since he had wanted to be generous all day and had been feeling mildly irritated with her for not giving him the opportunity . |
| 14 | ‘ He had wanted to be a doctor since he asked for a medical bag for Christmas when he was six-years-old . |
| 15 | He had asked to be tested . |
| 16 | He had asked to be ‘ put in the way ’ of a certain variety , and it was Father D'Arcy who enquired whether his request had met with success . |
| 17 | He had asked to be transferred , but his club had given him notice of retention and refused to release him . |
| 18 | And not included were 40 charges which he had asked to be taken into consideration on that occasion . |
| 19 | First , that he allowed Framework Management Ltd to go into liquidation admitting it owed £21,000 to Higgins ( who claimed he was owed £51,000 ) ; and , second , that he had caused to be issued in 1988 ‘ a press release regarding a tournament to be held in Peking stating , and telling Mr Higgins in order to induce him to take part in the tournament , that the first prize was £35,000 when in fact it was not ’ . |
| 20 | It was clear to me from this letter that we were engaged again , if that was what I wanted , and I did ; also , that the natural happiness and buoyancy of Leslie 's nature had reasserted itself , now that it had been released from what he had felt to be the cramping frustration of home service . |
| 21 | Paddy Kennedy , an RLP councillor who was himself taken to hospital with suspected broken ribs , said that he had seen Fitt fall to the ground and he had appeared to be on his knees when he was struck by a baton . |
| 22 | Nor did the Flemings feel that he was really supporting them ; he had appeared to be using them for his own ends . |
| 23 | The attraction of Lucas Simmonds had been that he had appeared to be confidently , unusually , happily " normal " , good friend , good sport , reliable leader , bright chap , blazer , flannels and smiling face . |
| 24 | Perhaps it was this legal background which encouraged Howard to enter into a formal agreement with Henrietta which laid down that ‘ to prevent altercations about those little matters which he had observed to be the chief grounds of uneasiness in families — he should always decide ’ . |
| 25 | He had studied to be a surgeon at Goettingen , and continued to practise occasionally . |
| 26 | He had studied to be a vet but lack of finances had forced him to quit and he became a blacksmith . |
| 27 | She wondered how much he had drunk to be explaining the trials of the journalist to her . |
| 28 | Paisley played a part in the Ulster Workers Council but , like the other politicians , he had had to be forced by the workers ' action in starting the strike despite his reservations . |
| 29 | He had seemed to be sleeping , yet even in sleep his closed eyelids quivered and his tiny fists were half-clenched . |
| 30 | The magistrates heard that he had seemed to be drunk when the police stopped him . |