Example sentences of "they [was/were] about [prep] be " in BNC.
Next page| No | Sentence |
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| 1 | If the crowd anticipate passé renditions of classic ME songs like ‘ I Melt With You ’ they were about to be disillusioned . |
| 2 | Thucydides , an acute social historian when he wants to be , remarks that ‘ most of the dealings between the Spartans and their helots were of a precautionary character ’ ( iv.80 ) , and tells a suitably laconic story of two thousand specially manly helots who were garlanded and led round the temples as if they were about to be given their freedom ; they were never seen again and nobody knew what happened to them . |
| 3 | They took their seats on canvas chairs which were placed side by side on the strip of red tiling , as if they were about to be photographed or to review a marching column . |
| 4 | Detectives believe they were about to be shipped to the manufacturing base in a spare room of the house in Highgate . |
| 5 | It somehow seemed to be a cutting-off point , as if they were about to be flown away from any contact with civilisation . |
| 6 | They were about to be handed the photographic opportunity most tourists only dream of . |