Example sentences of "it [not/n't] for " in BNC.
Next page| No | Sentence |
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| 1 | It is quite possible that a number of other political changes would have got under way more recently were it not for the direct intervention of Pope John Paul II and the Vatican . |
| 2 | A great detective might have considered this an astounding coincidence were it not for the fact that the hostelry was the only place in the whole of King 's Magnum Parva where a lady or a gentleman might obtain a meal . |
| 3 | The poem itself he found ‘ a pompous parade of erudition ’ , and he decided that ‘ were it not for the Laforgue mechanism , Mr Eliot s poetic variations on the theme of a super-refined futility would be increasingly thin and incredibly second rate ’ ( The Freeman , 17 January 1923 ) . |
| 4 | Not surprisingly , in their rush they were disinclined to hump mounds of electrical equipment into the west with them , and would now find themselves without so much as a guitar string to their name , were it not for the warm-hearted generosity of the British thrash metal community . |
| 5 | All of these things can be found here , in an album which could well be a Bunnymen work , were it not for the absence of much of the pomposity to which they were inclined ( though , unrepentant fans will note , not all of it judging by track titles like ‘ The White Hotel ’ and ‘ Proud to Fall ’ ) . |
| 6 | Many would dismiss Peter Thompson 's pessimism out of hand were it not for the fact that he was the author of a paper in July 1987 , when the market was at its pre-crash high , called ‘ The End of the Long Bull Market ’ . |
| 7 | This might plausibly be dismissed as ‘ Victorian stupidity ’ were it not for the tact that in Britain in 1988 a similar view was actually inscribed in law . |
| 8 | They would look incongruous , like far-flung gouchos , were it not for their high-stepping Icelandic ponies . |
| 9 | Encased in pile and nylon , hoods drawn tight , it would be easy to forget the world in a welter of sensations , were it not for the running commentary that Tove keeps up . |
| 10 | Replacement of the eroded ragstone facing could have provided a problem were it not for the fact that the builder who was employed to undertake the conversion was dismantling an identically constructed church at Canterbury at the same time and thus it was possible to import salvaged ragstone from the demolition for re-use at All Saints and St Barnabas . |
| 11 | Were it not for the support of sympathetic friends , the residents in our Homes and those who work in our factory could not be given the necessary help and encouragement to overcome their handicap , for we are dependent on voluntary help . |
| 12 | Kurtag is Ligeti 's opposite — a divergent musical thinker whose every new work might be by another composer , were it not for the extreme compression that is constant to his style . |
| 13 | But were it not for the perceived economic might of a more unified Economic Community , the dozen or so nations of the Pacific Rim , who have been meeting in Australia , might not have bothered . |
| 14 | IWOULD agree that male and female stereotypes portrayed in cartoons are equally abhorrent , were it not for the fact that , whilst one pokes fun at a powerful group in society ( men ) , the other perpetuates the oppression of a powerless group ( women ) . |
| 15 | He also held , dubiously , that were it not for the corruptions imposed by state and law , men would develop bonds of instinctive solidarity which would make government unnecessary . |
| 16 | Were it not for the prospect of seizing the Swiss money , it is doubtful whether the Philippines would be ready to allow Mrs Marcos home this year or any other year . |
| 17 | Were it not for these he would not have produced any of the philosophy for which he is now remembered . |
| 18 | Building a tractor from scratch would have been an impossible task , he admits , were it not for the fact that tractor-pulling expert Alan Williams live nearby . |
| 19 | A second-hand ZF tractor axle would have been ideal , were it not for the likely 12,000 price-tag and the fact that they 're hard to get hold of . |
| 20 | She would not have the heart to do it , were it not for his own good . |
| 21 | The curious nature of the Bar would matter less were it not for the fact that it supplies the vast majority of judges . |
| 22 | I do not know how I shall manage this winter and dread it not for the weather which is rarely fierce , but for the loneliness . |
| 23 | Dropped in , blindfolded , you could have been forgiven for thinking you were in Surrey were it not for the unmistakable twang of the Ulster accent . |
| 24 | There was continued sniping about the March performance , with Rover , whose market share was down to less than 10 p.c. , claiming sales would have been down by 20 p.c. were it not for Ford ‘ buying market share ’ . |
| 25 | It is suggested that this could be faster were it not for the introduced American Mink which may be occupying the position once held by Polecats in the habitat . |
| 26 | One would not be so sensitive about a little natural arrogance in a powerful nation ( a fault from which other powerful nations suffer as well ) were it not for the disastrous effect of the German consciousness of having a ‘ mission ’ in the past . |
| 27 | Some forms ( Turrilites ) adopted the helical spire , and were it not for the obligatory suture lines it might be possible to mistake these species for large gastropods . |
| 28 | Yet chemists would guess , were it not for the evidence of their own senses , that a material containing two hydrogen atoms and one of oxygen in each of its molecules should be a gas at Earthly temperatures — like carbon dioxide , with one atom of carbon and two of oxygen , or nitrogen dioxide , with two atoms of oxygen and one of nitrogen . |
| 29 | Were it not for the tides , it is hard to see how salt marsh could exist at all . |
| 30 | In addition , the constant incursion and retreat of the sea creates and maintains vast zones that are neither wholly marine , nor wholly freshwater , nor wholly land-based ; intertidal zones that vary in width , between spring tides and neap , and which could not persist , or would not exist at all , were it not for the tides . |