Example sentences of "[vb past] [adv] been the [adj] " in BNC.
Next page| No | Sentence |
|---|---|
| 1 | Because they could have turned round Er they would n't have got as much done if there 'd just been the two boys together . |
| 2 | Pavel knew that he 'd not been the best company but then , they had n't been treating this job as anything particularly special . |
| 3 | It was useless to start calling her irresponsible brother a few names — he 'd always been the same , and she 'd known that , love him though she did , when they had moved to London . |
| 4 | They 'd hardly been the first , he reflected . |
| 5 | He had seemed certain to become the first black Tory MP , representing Cheltenham — Norman Tebbit had tipped him as the first black cabinet minister and there 'd even been the odd hint that he might one day inhabit No 10 . |
| 6 | A report published in Le Monde on Sept. 19 noted that Egypt 's earnings from workers overseas had hitherto been the main source of foreign exchange receipts , amounting to over $2,000 million per year , of which $500 million came from workers in Kuwait alone . |
| 7 | They had obviously been the Russian barracks , with officers and men quartered there . |
| 8 | But Sara 's idea had obviously been the better one , he told himself , though without believing a word of it , for where would they all be now without ‘ Mama 's business venture , ’ as his stepson warmly pointed out to him on a walk round the garden this afternoon . |
| 9 | Poor folk had long been the chief sufferers from the raids of the body-snatchers , because of the flimsy coffins and shallow graves to which their corpses were consigned . |
| 10 | The Miners ' Welfare had long been the central social institution , and it became the focus of activity during the strike too . |
| 11 | Kendal had long been the second most important wool town in the country : Carlisle was the biggest town in the Border Marches . |
| 12 | It had long been the traditional burial ground of kings ; all Louis 's royal Capetian ancestors — with the exception of his father Philip — were buried within its confines . |
| 13 | However , it is still common to see exchange rates expressed in terms of the dollar , partly because this had long been the accepted practice under the adjustable peg , and also because of the USA 's continuing dominance in the world economy and financial system . |
| 14 | The divorce of mail and telephone ( of which Sweden had long been the main example ( at last in the 1980S became widespread . |
| 15 | This replaced section 5 of the Public Order Act 1936 which had long been the main public order offence and which had been used in a wide range of situations including demonstrations , football hooliganism , " streaking " and industrial disputes . |
| 16 | The Court of Appeal held that as the main purpose of Mr Stark 's contract had merely been the regular and efficient distribution of newspapers and since there was no evidence he should personally engage in distribution , it followed that the contract was not a ‘ contract personally to execute any work or labour ’ and therefore Mrs Gunning was not employed under such a contract . |
| 17 | The strict controls over our life at school , our terrible school uniform and the climate of East Yorkshire conspired against either of these sexual eventualities , which had apparently been the common run of existence in Trinidad . |
| 18 | Revolutionary changes in weapon technology had not been the only reason for the reimposition of the Ten-Year Rule . |
| 19 | At the snowbound alpine inn of Kleine Scheidegg , Kartoffel had not been the only climber to get a taste of the good frau 's favours . |
| 20 | Charles Marovitz in It had not been the only reviewer from the left dissatisfied with the Royal Shakespeare Company 's US on the Vietnam war . |
| 21 | As a result , Earl Robert had not been the only valuable prisoner taken , a fact that obviously rankled with Matilda . |
| 22 | Grandpa had not been the only one who grabbed . |
| 23 | She had not been the first woman to offer him a smile during the past few hour . |
| 24 | Crawford had not been the first choice to play Feste , until Colin Graham — who directed him in Benjamin Britten productions was brought in . |
| 25 | Naylor Massingham had not been the easiest of people to deal with when he 'd been in her home ; how would she fare now that she was , so to speak , on his territory ? |
| 26 | The care of the sick had not been the main concern of the House of Industry , and early personal records are lacking , but the workhouse master kept a weekly journal , the earliest entry in which is dated April 23rd 1842 . |
| 27 | His uncle had not been the same since Emily died . |
| 28 | He suggested the striker was lacking in desire , suggesting he had gone missing during the game against United , and saying he had not been the same since playing for England against Turkey a fortnight ago . |
| 29 | Dad was different ; he had not been the same since that night Alice was out and she had gone downstairs and watched him working on his book . |
| 30 | Some thought the scandal might have done better , in terms of audience ratings , if the name had not been the leaden ‘ Iran-contra affair ’ but something with panache , cloak-and-dagger stuff . |