Example sentences of "but when it [verb] " in BNC.

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1 He knew how to get a product that was decent and rather unexciting on to the shop floor , but when it became necessary to add more to that product and to innovate in design terms , he did n't know how to go about it .
2 Until the 1820s it rose and fell over a succession of steep hills and deep valleys but when it became the London–Holyhead road sections were totally rebuilt by Thomas Telford .
3 But when it became clear that the disagreement was becoming a hot issue , they gave way … only to find they 'd misinterpreted the producer 's fractured English .
4 But when it became known that someone ostensibly in the top echelon of the regime was no longer seen at the Ceauşescus ' palace at the nightly film shows or for chess , then whatever the victim 's ostensible rank , his own hangers-on would begin to look for another patron .
5 I was not in the least keen , but when it became clear to me that my intervention would be frowned upon only slightly by my television clients , added to the fact that I had established good relations with George Elvin , the ACTT 's general secretary , it seemed to me that there might be some sense in intervening .
6 General practitioners were enticed to join the fundholding scheme by the promise of new freedoms in their gatekeeping role , but when it became apparent that their potential to destabilise the system threatened other aspects of the reforms regional health authorities were told to ‘ manage the market ’ to ensure that the stability of hospitals was not threatened .
7 Hanne and Jens always hoped that Svend would join them on their farm , but when it became clear that his interests lay in constructional engineering they gladly supported him , despite their disappointment and the sacrifices they had to make . ’
8 Staff at Middlesbrough General Hospital at first tried to induce labour on January 31 but when it became clear Mrs Busuttil , now of West Drayton , London , was not in labour they discontinued their efforts .
9 HP figures Sun tried its damnedest to come up with a full-featured workstation under $5,000 but when it looked at the margins , dumbed down the box to create the Classic .
10 But when it looked at the boys , Edwardian England was invariably moved .
11 The he-man was spoilt for sports car choice in the mid '60s but when it came to the crunch he would probably have gone for either the Austin Healey or the AC Cobra .
12 Anthony was fine with a pick , apparently , but when it came to scraping away layers of earth with a trowel and saving small pieces of pottery , he simply did not have the patience .
13 But when it came to women , the Captain was a non-starter .
14 Watching him in the market she saw how popular he was , and certainly he had an eye for the best produce on offer , but when it came to the exchange of cash he parted with it too readily .
15 But when it came to the British people , who it was claimed he had so dreadfully harmed , the court went into secret session .
16 The wheelbarrow had been stuck , almost to the axle , but when it came free I toppled with it .
17 But when it came to it , national pride won out , and the UK forgot all about international agreements .
18 A man like Edouard de Chavigny liked to play the field , so much was understood , but when it came to choosing a wife , well , then the qualifications required were somewhat different .
19 ‘ The chance of a lifetime ’ did n't arrive at the most convenient moment for Helen Dobson ( seven months into a new job ) but when it came she grabbed it , in spite of the fact that it has left her biting her nails about future career prospects .
20 The Frizzell sons-in-law might wear halos , but when it came to financial success they were nowhere .
21 The GenTech labs could n't do anything about the common cold and no government had been able to develop a workable public transport system , but when it came to deathware , why , there were wonderful new toys on the market every fall , just in time for Christmas .
22 But when it came to their sex life , Antonia was boss of the futon frolics .
23 ‘ I believe we loved each other , but when it came to the crunch he could n't leave the priesthood . ’
24 I never did , but when it came up for auction , it just seemed like it would make her smile , and the money was going to a good cause , too .
25 The psychologist commented that Balbinder had liked having a reading book and clearly wanted to read but when it came to reading he did not understand what he was doing but relied on guessing .
26 But when it came to sport New Zealand has always been turned in .
27 Examples of such housing were built in Europe in the 1940s , but when it came to the public sector imitations in this country , narrowness of concep-tion and meanness in execution translated the idea into the publicly owned slabs and boxes that have become a feature of the landscape in our major cities ( McDowell , 1983 ) .
28 Kolchinsky was used to the gentle ribbing he got from the operatives about his cost-cutting exercises but when it came to the crunch he would never put any of their lives at risk for the sake of the budget .
29 H. C. Wyld , for example , was a very great expert on the grossly divergent regional dialects of Middle English , but when it came to post-sixteenth-century English , he was quite insistent that the only object worthy of our study was Received Standard English .
30 Sure , there were specialist writers on individual sports who were of unimpeachable quality , but when it came to the Big Event , or the Big Interview , McIlvanney was the one whom we read with both pleasure and despair — emotions generated by the pride at being in the same trade as the main , and by the realization of his supremacy .
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