Example sentences of "they used to [be] " in BNC.
Next page| No | Sentence |
|---|---|
| 1 | In Pakistan they used to be my constant companions . |
| 2 | FINGS ai n't wot they used to be department : The recent ministerial reshuffle has stripped the rather snobby Home Office of three Old Etonians — Hurd , Renton and Hogg . |
| 3 | They used to be extremely good value ; now they are eminently ignorable . |
| 4 | The scientists who man the climatological observation posts are less cautious than they used to be now that the general theory of climate change has become common property ; government servants are more confident and outspoken ; and , while scepticism remains , no cabinet minister is likely to denounce the theory and the accompanying evidence as hysterical . |
| 5 | Nevertheless , RAF attitudes were changing : the disbandment of Fighter Command and the probable demise of the V Force made pilot seats in transport aircraft more attractive than they used to be . |
| 6 | The columnists on the op-ed pages are more bloody-minded than they used to be , but in its editorials the Times remains the voice of American public policy . |
| 7 | Now some have — and foreign investors , less credulous anyway , are more needed than they used to be . |
| 8 | This enabled him to look forward with confidence to continued improvements which would put the British plants back at the top of the performance league , where they used to be , and where they belonged . |
| 9 | The Mulverins have a farm there now — they used to be the stewards when I was a girl . |
| 10 | ‘ They are fiercer than they have been for years , right back to what they used to be , ’ he said . |
| 11 | Who would have thought we would be watching the Kirov ( as they used to be ) performing a pas de deux from Antony Tudor 's The Leaves are Fading ? |
| 12 | The risk , they argued , was judging South Africa 's rugby resources as they used to be , not what they might become . |
| 13 | ‘ They used to be , I grant you , some models , but now our quality control is as good as anybody 's . |
| 14 | They used to be in the garden here , but Her Majesty doesnae care for them so they were thrown out on the rubbish heap , but the rubbish heap was by the river so the seeds were carried down by the water and sprouted by themselves on the bank . |
| 15 | They used to be called tea gowns many years ago . |
| 16 | Powders are not what they used to be and today 's formulations wo n't clog , streak or look heavy , provided you apply them properly . |
| 17 | She had never learned to read , either , and on the very rare occasions she received a letter Christine was called in to read it to her , Miss Miggs being careful to explain that her eyes were n't as good as they used to be or that she could n't find her glasses . |
| 18 | They used to be common in the Aberdeen Angus too . |
| 19 | They used to be called waghorns in Lancashire . |
| 20 | ‘ Not as thick as they used to be , ’ snorted Squeaky , ‘ not many big uns either . ’ |
| 21 | Litters today are so much bigger than they used to be that sows inevitably find it more difficult to avoid harming their offspring . |
| 22 | Are people more or less ‘ in the know ’ about the external circumstances which affect them than they used to be ? |
| 23 | It is probably a fact that few people have ever thought about , but a fact nonetheless , that nights are not so dark now as they used to be . |
| 24 | A&R people are sharper and more aggressive than they used to be . |
| 25 | ‘ Like a lot of things in the musical instrument industry , strings are much better value than they used to be . |
| 26 | There 's a second-hand Spector NS2A here at £1495 , although we have new Spector four and fives coming in soon at £1995 , which is pretty good considering they used to be £3000 ! |
| 27 | Of course , there are plenty of bands around who still shun the use of a digital recording system in favour of its analogue forbears , but fings ai n't want they used to be and DAT 's the truth . |
| 28 | It is now very difficult to park a car in Funchal as areas are being made into pedestrian streets and the central reservations in Avenida Arriaga are being restored to walking areas , as they used to be before cars took them over . |
| 29 | Nurses were more highly educated and accountable for their actions as professionals than they used to be . |
| 30 | This means that although credit cards are probably still the cheapest way to pay bills abroad , they may not be quite such good value as they used to be . |