Example sentences of "n't been for the [adj] [noun] " in BNC.
Next page| No | Sentence |
|---|---|
| 1 | Nobody would have known that he was planning to puff on home-grown cannabis in Wales if it had n't been for the ironic coincidence that another Mr Perkins had mistakenly opened a package addressed to the actor . |
| 2 | He felt he might even have given the captain a good run for his money if it had n't been for the damn man 's obvious advantage of height and weight . |
| 3 | People like myself , would n't have had the bottle , would n't have dreamed of coming up here if it had n't been for the good work of people like Mike and Harry , who in my opinion do a superb job in training me , you , all of us in this union . |
| 4 | Simone 's gran , Gwen Turner , said : ‘ If it had n't been for the prompt action of these two ambulancemen I do n't know what would have happened . |
| 5 | I am no molecular biologist , and would n't have dreamed of learning the techniques required to detect the immediate early genes , if it had n't been for the serendipitous arrival in the lab of a young molecular biologist from Moscow , Kostya Anokhin ( grandson of the psychologist and physiologist pupil of Pavlov , Peter Anokhin , whose ‘ functional systems theory ’ I referred to in passing in Chapter 9 ) . |
| 6 | If it had n't been for the long hair and the high heels , we 'd have thought we had a squaddie on our hands . |
| 7 | She would have rung him , if it had n't been for the tall constable standing meaningfully by the telephone . |
| 8 | It was one of her own designs , but whether she would ever have worn it , if it had n't been for the interfering Roman Wyatt , she did n't know . |
| 9 | If it had n't been for the capricious whim of her younger sister she would have been hard at work in London at this moment . |
| 10 | If it had n't been for the canter Nails would not have been terribly keen for another lesson , but the canter had given him dreams above his station . |
| 11 | ‘ If it had n't been for the native Africans in the community who rallied round , looked after my wife and kept leaving food parcels outside the door we would have been sunk . |
| 12 | Detective Inspector Gerry Wright says although she had heart disease she may well have lived for several years , if it had n't been for the sudden shock of finding two men in her house . |
| 13 | Just for a moment their fingers touched , then broke apart as they both stepped back with a haste that would have been comical if it had n't been for the sudden surge of sensation that arced between them . |
| 14 | Part of it was my upbringing , of course , but I could easily have had a violent reaction away from that if it had n't been for the inhibiting atmosphere in the company itself . |
| 15 | If it had n't been for the triumphant glitter in his eyes she would have been lost ; as it was , he had pulled her zip down and was easing her dress from her shoulders by the time she 'd steeled herself to thrust hard against his shoulders with both hands and roll off the bed . |
| 16 | If it had n't been for the double glazing she would have been hurt . |
| 17 | Oh , perhaps they would have done , if it had n't been for the local newspaper . |
| 18 | However none of these exhibitions could have happened if it had n't been for the groundbreaking work carried out by Lubaina Himid since the late 70s . |