Example sentences of "be that [vb past] [verb] [pron] " in BNC.

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1 I 've then got rolling I A P's with Rob and whoever it is that got to help us with individual action planning
2 He knew what it was that had struck him as odd about Michael Banks 's death .
3 Nell lowered the file , suddenly frightened , and still not knowing what it was that had disturbed her .
4 It did n't take much to persuade her to come and nothing would have prevented me from seeing precisely what it was that had turned my schoolfriend into what the Daily Express called ‘ a phenomena ’ .
5 ‘ While engaged in watching the movements of the several species of the great family of Procellaridae , which at one time often and often surrounded the ships that conveyed me round the world , a bright speck would appear on the distant horizon , and , gradually approaching nearer and nearer , at length assumed the form of the White-headed petrel , whose wing-powers far exceed those of any of its congeners ; at one moment it would be rising high in the air , at the next sweeping comet-like through the flocks flying around ; never , however , approaching the ship sufficiently near for a successful shot , and it was equally wary in avoiding the boat with which I was frequently favoured for the purpose of securing examples of other species ; but , to make use of a familiar adage , the most knowing are taken in at last ’ ’ ; one beautiful morning , the 20th of Feb. 1839 , during my passage from Hobart Town to Sydney , when the sea was perfectly calm and of a glassy smoothness , this wanderer of the ocean came in sight and approached within three hundred yards of the vessel ; anxious to attract him still closer , so as to bring him within range , I thought of the following stratagem : — a corked bottle , attached to a long line , was thrown overboard and allowed to drift to the distance of forty or fifty yards , and kept there until the bird favoured us with another visit , while flying around in immense circles ; at length his keen eye caught sight of the neck of the bottle ( to which a bobbing motion was communicated by sudden jerks of the string ) , and he at once proceeded to examine more closely what it was that had arrested his attention ; during this momentary pause the trigger was pulled , the boat lowered , and the bird was soon in my possession . ’
6 He shook her awake and explained that he planned to make his way back into the forest , skirting the area of rocks , to get a closer look at whatever it was that had caught his attention .
7 Whatever it was that had triggered his mental alarm system , it set the adrenaline pumping into his bloodstream , and snapped his mind and body into a state of combat readiness .
8 And then he knew what it was that had tapped him on the shoulder .
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