Example sentences of "it were not for [pron] " in BNC.

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1 Something that she would have grasped , if it were n't for her own stupidity .
2 And she might have been able to deal with the situation — might , indeed , have been able to suppress and finally bury such an errant emotion — if it were n't for her present situation .
3 Floating there , it could have been a bath toy duck , daintily hand-painted by some artistic genius , plaything of a princess , if it were n't for its air of fragility , and slim — needle-slim — bill .
4 I might be impressed and affected by this sudden talent for suffering , if it were n't for its monotony : fear , just fear , fear only .
5 ‘ If it were n't for what you 've been through , I 'd break your jaw . ’
6 His restlessness permeated the entire house , and she felt guilty , certain that her presence was tying him to Gullholm , that if it were n't for her he would go home , or visit one or other of his sisters or his mother , all of whom made regular telephone calls .
7 Peace reigns at last though , and everything in the smouldering remains of the garden would be rosy if it were n't for one little problem .
8 Where would you be now if it were n't for me ?
9 ‘ If it were n't for me giving you a roof over your head after your mother had the gall to die on me , you would have ended up in the bloody workhouse !
10 ‘ If it were n't for me old bones and the fact that I might be overlooked when the bidding starts , I would n't want you within a mile of that sale room .
11 If it were n't for my kids now I 'd be doing untold things .
12 If it were n't for my sister I 'd turn the whole matter over to the police and let them find Garry . ’
13 ‘ I 'm sure it was n't ; Garry is n't the brightest of men ; he 'd deceive himself into thinking I would n't try to trace him , and if it were n't for my sister I would n't bother ; the discrepancies in the accounts would be compensated for by his permanent absence from the firm . ’
14 And him with nothing to his name if it were n't for my late mistress ! ’
15 If it were n't for his days at the mucky end of the trade , he would never have earned enough to buy a house and he would n't have met Raksha who had been doing a bit of topless work to supplement her salary as a nurse .
16 In the car , on the homeward journey , Cassie found herself reflecting , as she glanced covertly at his profile and at the thin hands lightly gripping the steering wheel … those same brown and capable hands that had figured so prominently in her earlier fantasies … that he would make the perfect lover , if it were n't for his apparent indifference to women ; and perhaps , also , to having sex ; although this last was only an assumption .
17 If it were n't for our export orders , our figures would be looking rather sick .
18 ‘ If it were n't for your penny-pinching ways I would n't be so eager to spend my time in London .
19 Externalisation or blaming — accepting that there are significant problems but blaming anything other than alcohol or drug use for their cause : " If it were n't for you I 'd be okay " .
20 ‘ If it were n't for you I 'd never have been out there in the first place . ’
21 ‘ If it were n't for you I 'd have been fish-food by now . ’
22 If it were not for them he would not be free , he said .
23 At the western outskirts of the town is the Bliss Valley Tweed Mill , an imposing stone-built factory which , if it were not for its chimney rising from a domed tower , would look like a great country mansion .
24 Not only does the 24-hour delivery time achieved week in week out put most publishers to shame , but if it were not for their buyers ' notes and regular representative visits , we as a small bookshop all too often ignored by publishers — The Bookseller apart , whose efforts are also appreciated — would not be made aware of new titles and promotions .
25 As one Pisticci peasant puts it : ‘ if it were not for my family , I 'd not be wearing myself out ’ .
26 If it were not for my concern for my grandmother , I would — I would put you out of the car right now , I would let you wait beside the road until someone took pity on you and offered to drive you back to Milano . ’
27 First , that the conditions I have described constituted a substantial interference with the residents ' enjoyment of their property up to June 1990 ; second , that enough residents were affected to constitute a public nuisance if it were not for his other defences .
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