Example sentences of "[was/were] [verb] the first " in BNC.
Next page| No | Sentence |
|---|---|
| 1 | They were enjoying the first fresh food they had had in weeks before settling down for a long , well-earned rest . |
| 2 | The church had important links with the butchers of Prague and they were given the first chapel on the left at the W end in honour of their defence of Prague , once in 1611 against the troops from Passau , and again in 1648 , against the Swedes . |
| 3 | As journalists were given the first glimpse inside the mall on Wednesday , managers from developer Burton Property Trust geared up for a major marketing exercise . |
| 4 | Cos I 've been silly in the past , I 've told Evelyn lots of times and we had a new machine , a rapid na nailer , it er nailed er army sho er soles onto the at five hun it used to do three hundred and fifty nails a minute and we m made one just for I er went out on the road , er to five hundred a minute you see , and er we were building the first half a dozen and er er there 's two pawls at the back of the machine |
| 5 | By the end of the eighteenth century , the seaside resorts were undergoing the first stages of the process that was to transform the seaside holiday from an exclusive upper-class recreation into a national institution . |
| 6 | And if I think you were to read the first two pages of his autobiography , there 's a dedicatory verse on another page , I ca n't help feeling that you will agree with me that , in a , there 's something embarrassing about them . |
| 7 | They were hauling the first of the thin , encasing layers over the top of the frame , the heavily-suited men pulling on the guide ropes . |
| 8 | So if we were talking about the Middle Ages we had Gregorian chants , or if we were doing the First World War we had First-world-war songs . |
| 9 | When they were doing the first picture they had , I think it was . |
| 10 | were doing the first |
| 11 | In August it was announced that all first-year Beijing University students would undergo a year of military and political training , while two other top universities were to devote the first five weeks of the new term to the study of documents issued by the central authorities on the " truth " about the " counter-revolutionary rebellion " . |
| 12 | Her plans were overthrown the first day when the president requested that she should be chaplain . |
| 13 | While such behaviour can not be condoned , an occasional show of controlled passion from England 's bowlers would not have gone amiss on the same ground when Australia were winning the first Test . |
| 14 | As you were over 75 and on a modest income , you were allowed the first £4,180 tax free . |
| 15 | IT is unbelievable that in 1970 , during our formative years , only 30 undergraduates were awarded the first general degree of the University , at a ceremony in Pathfoot . |
| 16 | Erm and so I , I believe that er the resolution in fact on the order paper will stand er and if we were to remove the first two lines er of Mr 's erm resolution that the County Council he represents if necessary that in a full , a full public enquiry into the fifth terminial at Heathrow , if we get that and graft on the rest of his words er to the resolution er on the Chairman er that will do two things er it reads er the quality of our Officers are suggesting and it picks up again a very important comments er that he makes er regarding post , er , er something that is public erm , er and that it , it meets media and the other improve that 's something for the district office report . |
| 17 | Anyway , my worst fears about Barny were confirmed the first time I tried to put a leash on him . |
| 18 | Helen wondered if she was seeing the first moment of a gathering hysteria . |
| 19 | As he responded , Rostov remembered the survey briefing and wondered if he was seeing the first evidence of genetic mutation . |
| 20 | Moxon 's first revised plan was to continue the first innings on 317 for seven but he then decided to declare in an attempt to bowl out Somerset twice . |
| 21 | Well before I went to Hemel Hempstead , my father was dredging the first part of the quay at six hundred feet , what we call a six hundred feet , the first part and er I used to take his dinner down , because he 'd , he would n't have anything cooked aboard the ship . |
| 22 | There was , of course , no such safety problem , as the safety inspector subsequently confirmed , and the steward was given the first of the warning notes , as planned . |
| 23 | He then ran back to his position , foolishly had another go at the midfielder with his elbow and was given the first dip in the Chester bath . |
| 24 | Endless cups of coffee helped a bit but what a relief it was to see the first pale streaks of dawn creeping across the sky . |
| 25 | At a time when Western Europe was enjoying the first benefits of industrial society , trade with the west was actually stultifying social progress and the development of industry in Poland and Prussia , and particularly in backward Pomerania . |
| 26 | ‘ I told him if he would n't stay in Copenhagen with me than I was catching the first plane home ! ’ |
| 27 | Getting out her suitcase , and with her fury riding high , she began throwing her belongings into it — she was catching the first plane out of there ! |
| 28 | Osbern 's next service to the revival of the old observances after his return from Bec was to write the first coherent Life of Dunstan . |
| 29 | One of the earliest projects was to create the first out-patient clinic at St Stephen 's Hospital in London . |
| 30 | Isotron of Swindon was granted the first irradiation licence to preserve food . |