Example sentences of "[vb past] [adv] [be] for " in BNC.

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1 The way they 'd always been for his people : the fishers , the hunters .
2 The accident costs which mounted up were for minor , frequent mishaps such as bacterial contamination of equipment used in the creamery which were all identified and contained , and damage caused to vehicles in the transport company from manoeuvring in confined spaces .
3 His damp hair was slicked back as if he 'd recently been for a swim or taken a shower .
4 I believe that the figures that the hon. Lady gave earlier were for regional development grant rather than for regional selective assistance , which has been in existence for only about three years , as she will recall .
5 It had all been for nothing ; the fear , the guilt , the deaths … .
6 The mad drive up the M4 with pain like barbed hooks turning in his arm had all been for nothing .
7 All of her sweet , loving nature that she 'd turned in on herself , waiting for this one moment in her life , this moment of truth , and it had all been for nothing .
8 So it had all been for nothing !
9 She had consulted an astrologer once before , even if it had only been for a lark , so why not consult another one now ?
10 His deterioration through Alzheimer 's Disease with its abundant frustrations had long been for him a physical and mental martyrdom .
11 Following my economically truthful pronouncements on the local meteorological trends ( I had already been for a pee ) , he reluctantly committed himself to an extended struggle with frozen boots and gaiters , muttering foul oaths about his much vaunted , but now soaked , pair of newly customised salopettes .
12 The complex of disparate elements comprising academic English was always unstable , though they might have stayed together longer if it had not been for the demands of the academic environment .
13 She opened her eyes and was aware of being in her mother 's bed , where she had not been for over ten years .
14 In 1959 Rank claimed that ‘ Britain would now have a healthy industry and a very successful market ’ if it had not been for the insensitivity of the Department of Trade .
15 They should remember that it would all have ended seven matches earlier if it had not been for an 88th-minute equaliser against Bashley on September 16 .
16 Even his magnum opus , Perestroika , written in the summer of 1987 , contained the amazing notion in its first edition that ‘ if it had not been for collectivisation , we could have died from hunger in the war ’ .
17 If it had not been for the extraordinary resilience of Hitler 's Wehrmacht and the fortitude of the German people , it would have done so .
18 Perhaps if it had not been for the Shakoor Rana affair the TCCB might have handled this quietly and sensibly by issuing a non-committal statement and letting the fuss die down .
19 We agreed to have him for a fortnight but when the time came he refused to go , and would be with us yet if it had not been for the First World War and your father having to go …
20 There was a lesson at school I should have loved if it had not been for poor Lucy .
21 They were bare and shabby and if it had not been for the pretty yellow cloths she had made for the tables and the yellow and orange cushions she had covered for the chairs and the blue vase full of roses she had asked Maria to place on the chest of drawers , then they would have been dismal indeed .
22 If it had not been for the shamelessness of it , Wilson felt she might have been sorely tempted to exploit this extraordinary advantage .
23 If it had not been for a visitor arriving then and her being obliged to leave instantly she had no doubt they would have waded into deeper waters and she knew she would not have been sorry .
24 ‘ If it had not been for the difficulties and bruises caused by the recession , I have no doubt there would be an increased majority for the Conservative Party , ’ he said .
25 If it had not been for an alliance of Dr Newman , consultant ecologist Doug Cross and Walter Roberts — three local residents who formed the Camelford Scientific Advisory Panel and conducted their own investigations — and for John Lewis , who lost his job , it is doubtful whether very much would ever have come out about the incident .
26 Many of the greatest treasures in National Trust houses would have been sold abroad long ago if it had not been for the ‘ in lieu ’ system , which was established in 1956 and which enabled private owners to give works of art to the nation in lieu of capital taxes .
27 If it had not been for Agnes 's willingness to help , poor Miss Watson would have been unaided in her weakness .
28 ‘ For my part I believe the African Jesus would have won if it had not been for the Dark Host .
29 Coming after five years of war , when for the first time there did seem to be a tiny light at the end of the tunnel , these new rockets were almost too much for our overstretched nerves , although the situation would no doubt have been very much worse if it had not been for the times when both the RAF and the American Air Force had been out bombing Peenemunde and the other rocket sites .
30 If it had not been for his clothes and the rings on his fingers I would have scarcely recognised him . ’
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