Example sentences of "[noun] [vb past] [vb pp] to be [adj] " in BNC.
Next page| No | Sentence |
|---|---|
| 1 | Hector had refused to be present . |
| 2 | Uncle Mosse had wanted to be dead there , and since he could n't achieve it for himself , his clothes had done it for him . |
| 3 | Angy had professed to be delighted to hear from her , had invited her to her flat but refused point-blank to hand over the ring . |
| 4 | Frankie had learned to be wary of that place . |
| 5 | The Union of the Crowns did not mean that England and Scotland had ceased to be separate countries . |
| 6 | But in spite of the immense authority which he now possessed , his poetry had ceased to be fashionable or " chic " in the way that The Waste Land or even Ash-Wednesday had originally been : the new , or at least young , poets were no longer particularly interested in what he had to show them . |
| 7 | The deputy editor had tried to be helpful . |
| 8 | If this process was properly carried out as a matter of public law , then the consequential private law right of the plaintiff was simply a right to the accommodation which the council had decided to be suitable . |
| 9 | The Newcastle boss had hoped to be able to reveal the identity of the player yesterday before the move hit a hitch . |
| 10 | His prophecy had proved to be correct , for the trade he brought her way currently accounted for a good thirty per cent of her income . |
| 11 | The Million Sterling had proved to be powerful bait . |
| 12 | With as much robustness as he could spare , he said that he did n't think the director had meant to be flippant . |
| 13 | Lily had wanted to be kind and had arranged another grouping — herself dressed up again and as many of those originally present as possible . |
| 14 | All during supper , eating a pork chop and cauliflower and mashed potatoes , Stephen had wanted to be alone . |
| 15 | Its excellent PR and the enthusiasm of the press might simply have set it up for a great fall if the use of its powers had proved to be weak or ineffective . |
| 16 | Dates and September and October had proved to be difficult and beyond that , it would be a very belated welcome . |
| 17 | A long time ago , Alice thought , as she heard the arrival of the first of Félix 's dinner guests , she and Harry had longed to be rich in order to buy themselves a house which they could share . |
| 18 | In its initial statement , UNITA said that Gen. Miguel N'Zau Puna and Gen. Tony da Costa Fernandes had asked to be relieved of their duties in order to concentrate their efforts on a resolution to the issue of the secession of the Cabinda enclave . |
| 19 | That intolerable woman , she thought bitterly , had managed to become president of the Tollemarche Downtown Community Centre by a majority of a single vote , and Mrs Frizzell had had to be content with the vice-presidency , which office she declared gave her all the work and none of the authority . |
| 20 | Although I had been under no real illusions that an amazing secret would suddenly be revealed , I was nevertheless disappointed that my theories had proved to be groundless . |
| 21 | And even she had to admit that what she 'd seen the Prince show the old woman had seemed to be genuine respect and affection — |
| 22 | It had been an end , where Jay had yearned to be sure — had been sure ? what a fool believes ? — it would be a beginning . |
| 23 | This reserved money was offered in the form of education support grants ( ESGs ) of up to 75% of the cost of each project , in areas of education that the Secretary of State had deemed to be important . |
| 24 | Sir Graham , who is a member of ACOST , said Britain had proved to be good at increasing the knowledge base but weak at developing the technological benefits . |
| 25 | The subject had seemed to be taboo ; and he himself had in a way pressed her down into his mind because thoughts of her conjured up a feeling tinged with regret and shame , centred round a scene in the bedroom and the rage of his mother . |
| 26 | Lewis had forgotten to be indifferent and aloof , he could n't help it . |
| 27 | Recording had proved to be useless , because if a skater fell or was late on an entrance the sound of his or her voice carrying on the dialogue with unaware insouciance was pretty bizarre . |
| 28 | The Church had ceased to be monolithic ; the social structure of Europe had become more fluid . |
| 29 | One of the examples trialled proved to be easy . |
| 30 | Cuvier had claimed to be able to reconstruct an animal from a single bone , but it was Owen who did it , working out that a bone from New Zealand , broken at the ends , must have come from an enormous flightless bird , and being vindicated when the complete skeleton of a moa was found later . |