Example sentences of "[pron] [vb past] not " in BNC.

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1 The ‘ Minister of the Crown ’ role was hung on little Colin Moynihan for a day or two while everyone tried not to laugh ; he was , after all , only just over five foot tall and Minister for Sport and he had , after all , not slept with Pamella , only been with her at the Winter Ball .
2 I met not a soul on the walk , but the path was in very good condition , a feature we noticed many times in NZ , that the tracks are well looked-after even when apparently hardly used .
3 Well , I agreed not to speak more than half an hour , but I see that I have been speaking for a little longer than forty-five minutes .
4 I agreed not to tell the police , and said goodbye .
5 John Bunyan wrote of the reading of his youth : " Give me a ballad , a news-book , George on horseback , or Bevis of Southampton ; give me some book that teaches curious arts , that tells of old fables ; but for the holy Scriptures I cared not . "
6 I tried not to think about it , which is the only thing to do in such a situation . ’
7 I tried not to watch as I fitted the frame together and balanced the unfinished top on it .
8 I tried not to let this interfere with les très riches heures de James Kirkup , but the wretchedness and misery were overwhelming .
9 I tried not to cringe when he chewed my left ear making a noise like a pig in a trough .
10 I was terrified , I tried not to look at him , I tried pulling my skirt down over my knees .
11 I tried not to breathe , but in the end I just did .
12 In the last six articles I tried not to describe any canoeing technique as right or wrong .
13 I tried not to look at anything in between .
14 I tried not to think about it .
15 Even if I 've had doubt , I tried not to show it .
16 " I tried not to think of you either , " she said .
17 I heard the voice , but I tried not to listen , concentrating instead on the spider 's web in the window .
18 I tried not to think of her in the feathery nightdress under the influence of the aphrodisiac .
19 I tried not to listen to all that dirty talk , but the truth is a couple of suggestions left me wondering … ’
20 I tried not to shout so loud .
21 That night I tried not being decent , being sharp and bitchy , instead .
22 But I did n't take those tablets , I tried not to do .
23 I tried not to give any extra weight to the explanations or justifications made by one individual rather than another .
24 I tried not to make a noise , in case you were asleep . ’
25 I tried not to listen .
26 Well I tried not to , but
27 I tried not to let my fear go through the reins : it was very hard .
28 I did not expect another career , since I felt that I had already had one , but in the event I found not only that , but a fascinating path through life that my original naval calling could not possibly have produced .
29 After I got my free plaster and sticky tape to keep the cotton wool swab on I found not just a cup of tea and rich tea on offer but a wide choice of beverages and crisps and chocolate biscuits all individually wrapped — from looking at that feast you would n't believe the NHS is strapped for cash .
30 I pretended not to notice it , and , as the students listened with bated breath , instructed them to turn to page thirty in Jespersen .
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