Example sentences of "he [vb past] n't been [adj] " in BNC.
Next page| No | Sentence |
|---|---|
| 1 | So he had n't been sure of her after all … |
| 2 | No wonder he had n't been keen to tell her about it . |
| 3 | There was always that about Mario , that if he had n't been one hell of a racing driver , you still would have wanted to talk to him ; and that , although he was one hell of a racing driver , you still preferred to talk to him about other matters . |
| 4 | Even if he had n't been such a good-looking chap , he was , by any standards , the only eligible man around . |
| 5 | If he had n't been such a lousy husband I might not have got myself in so deep … ’ |
| 6 | Besides , if he had n't been selfish , hard , ambitious , he would n't be where he is . ’ |
| 7 | On these journeys , however , he had n't been fortunate , as some of the fellows in the camp had been , in finding a cottage or a house where they were invited in to tea , which often meant , so he understood , eggs and chips or even bacon , particularly if it was a farmhouse . |
| 8 | But he had n't been nude . |
| 9 | He had n't been dead for very long — my earlier estimate of around six hours will be somewhere near the mark . |
| 10 | He had been over twenty before he had even found out about it but he had n't been old enough to dare ask his grandmother how it had been and how she had felt and what they had talked about . |
| 11 | She had been married before , of course , and he had n't been surprised to find out . |
| 12 | He had n't been surprised ) . |
| 13 | He had n't been able to keep the irritation out of his voice . |
| 14 | He 'd had another sleepless night and ahead lay customs , who could n't be expected to be exactly pro-British , and because of post and telephone strikes in Argentina , he had n't been able to confirm the flight with Alejandro , so they 'd have to go through the hassle of hiring a car to drive the 330 kilometres out to his estancia . |
| 15 | For forty years he had n't been able to bring himself to venture into it again . |
| 16 | He had n't been able to raise Manolo for minutes . |
| 17 | He had farmed the child out , of course , but he had n't been able to quell the fear that somehow she might intrude upon his future . |
| 18 | He had n't been able to see Topaz for over two weeks because Virginia had been ill . |
| 19 | When that happened it meant he was drunk , sprawled out on the sofa if he had n't been able to reach the bed . |
| 20 | He had n't been able to sleep on the plane at all . |
| 21 | There were pauses , then he banged the keys plaintively , going over the passages he had n't been able to get right , then suddenly he put on a record of the Chopin and played along with it , always two or three notes behind . |
| 22 | He apologized when he was close enough , because he guessed he had n't been able to hear Lavinia calling to him above the noise of the Suffolk Punch . |
| 23 | He had n't been able to see Slater for two days after the party , and that time had passed in a daze for him . |
| 24 | But , even with all his experience , he had n't been able to wait , and it had n't mattered , nothing had been important then except being together . |
| 25 | They 'd arranged to meet for dinner , but it seemed he had n't been able to wait . |
| 26 | He had n't been able to prevent himself from catching her when she fell , and now the feel of her , cradled helplessly against his chest , sent shafts of agony through him . |
| 27 | On leaving , he said that his only regret , was that he had n't been able to get round to everyone and say goodbye . |
| 28 | He had n't been able to mix with other pupils and suffered from depression . |
| 29 | If he had n't been able to , it does n't bear thinking about . ’ |
| 30 | Would you believe that he said I 've got to work on the aeroplane this week , I 've got the week off , I 've got to work on the aeroplane , I , you know , I shall be alright , down the airfield , er on the Wednesday he arrived to see how we were getting on , complaining like made because he had n't been able to find where the cottage was , I said but I 'd left you a detailed map , |