Example sentences of "not been for [noun] " in BNC.

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1 It must have been clear to the Prussian government that if it had not been for government subsidy the Junker estates would have collapsed under their own weight long ago , but they were nevertheless incapable of striking at what they saw to be the basis and guarantor of their state and society .
2 ‘ If it had not been for Tracy , I would not be a professional footballer any more .
3 If it had not been for Elizabeth taking her in off the streets and giving her a home , then Tilly 's own life would have been empty .
4 Had it not been for Goleniewski 's information , which the court could not be told about , Blake would never have been caught and because Goleniewski could not have given evidence without Blake 's confession he could not have been brought to trial .
5 Had it not been for anti-depressant drugs and psychitaric help , he says he could easily have taken his own life .
6 Had it not been for Helmut 's wealth and his travels , we should not have had anything like the variety of food Mme Guérigny put on her table .
7 Although the Church was slow off the mark following the population migration and concentration in the expanding towns during the Industrial Revolution , failure has not been for want of trying .
8 I am afraid that it has not been a success and that has certainly not been for want of effort from him but I think we just have to write that one off .
9 Had it not been for Unish and Belig and a few others , we would be there still .
10 If it had not been for Adam 's quick eyes we might never have seen anything amiss .
11 Even his magnum opus , Perestroika , written in the summer of 1987 , contained the amazing notion in its first edition that ‘ if it had not been for collectivisation , we could have died from hunger in the war ’ .
12 But the project could have been lost to overseas had it not been for grant aid from the Welsh Office .
13 ‘ So , all in all , last year , I was quite ready to liquidate some of my American assets , and I would have done so , had it not been for Edouard . ’
14 Roosevelt might nevertheless have got his way in 1943 , had it not been for developments inside France .
15 Sleep would have come if it had not been for Hugh 's tossing and moaning .
16 Sleep would have come if it had not been for Hugh 's tossing and moaning .
17 If it had not been for Agnes 's willingness to help , poor Miss Watson would have been unaided in her weakness .
18 Perhaps I might have recognized my own hypocrisy , if it had not been for Richard 's behaviour in the next months .
19 Jane Starkie , she , she would have been in the frame had it not been for penalty points during the cross country course , for being a wee bit too slow .
20 It does not seem unreasonable to suggest that Graham Gooch would never have got any further than being Ted Dexter 's favourite wet fish had it not been for Fletcher 's overwhelming if understated influence .
21 Jack always saw Piggy as a burden and if it had not been for Piggy 's spectacles Piggy would have been even more hated by Jack .
22 But everything else had been alive and splendid in a way it had not been for years .
23 Indeed , the Minister of the Legation , Captain ( later Sir ) Vyvyan Holt , was later to say that he would not have survived one of their many forced marches in intense cold had it not been for Blake 's courage and help .
24 Had it not been for Pam 's voice cajoling him onward and upward , he would have given up the struggle .
25 Rentokil would not have won the coveted Business Enterprise Award as company of the year had it not been for individuals playing their part , as our Chief Executive Clive Thompson reiterated ‘ this award is for the Rentokil people and the contribution this Company has made to improving the environment ’ .
26 The whole room , scented with the Christmas goose , seemed to glimmer with warmth and merriment and if it had not been for fear of distressing the children , Alexandra would have been happy to burst into tears .
27 He was , by one account , " shattered by grief and almost despair " after Vivien 's death and , if it had not been for John Hayward 's help and encouragement , would have retired into complete seclusion .
28 If it had not been for Jeremy 's displays of speed , power and massive wheelies , backed up by a courageous Robert Holden , these races would have been pretty flat beer .
29 Voeller might have scored in the 24th minute had it not been for Andy Goram 's fine save from a powerful 20-yard shot , but seven minutes later he set up Marseille 's opener .
30 After de Raimes sacked Tracy he kept us in a dungeon for three months until Alice was forced to become his mistress , and had it not been for Edmund I would have lost my mind . ’
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