Example sentences of "it [verb] all been a [noun sg] " in BNC.

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1 I hope it is not too late to say yes , I 'd like very much to have dinner on Friday and I too feel we 've been rather silly and it has all been a misunderstanding … ’
2 ‘ I just wonder whether it has all been a waste of time . ’
3 And then I made a mistake , I felt it had all been a sacrifice in vain , I felt I had to make him appreciate what I 'd done , that he ought to let me go — so I tried to tell him .
4 But it had all been a trick , a dreadful trick .
5 It had all been a trick , all that sweet , hot loving , that tenderness , just a cruel device to help him find out what she knew .
6 Drugged again , they regained consciousness outside the valley in anguish that it had all been a dream .
7 It had all been a dream ; perhaps she 'd never even left it .
8 Perhaps it had all been a dream .
9 But it had all been a bluff .
10 Within Dotty 's hearing a home pirate remarked that he thought it had all been a storm in a teacup .
11 On some mornings the ducks on Three Island Pond would take off in great arcing flights against the sun , round and behind the Cages and out of sight , round again and behind the distant trees and then suddenly back again as if it had all been a mistake and they had never meant to fly off in the first place .
12 She had been convinced at first that it had all been a mistake , that she had indeed misread the unspoken message contained in the postcard .
13 Surely they realised that it had all been a mistake once you explained ? ’
14 After so long thinking that the reason for our kidnap had been bad feeling between Britain and Iran , and knowing that , before the Rushdie affair at least , fences had been mended , it was hard to believe now that it had all been a mirage .
15 He would come exuberantly into the office after ops with his crew tagging along behind him , to tell us that our weather forecast had been spot on , it had all been a piece of cake , bombs went down — Wham ! — right on the target , no trouble at all , good show ! , and here they were back on the old tarmac , cheating death again , etc .
16 But it had all been a sham .
17 Now he saw it had all been a sham .
18 ‘ Well , perhaps you can ring him after we 've gone and explain that it 's all been a mistake ?
19 It 's all been a bit too easy on the ear and eye .
20 It 's all been a bit bloody , I gather . ’
21 In fact , it 's all been a bit of a downhill coast ever since ! ’
22 It 's all been a bit of fun , bit of a laugh really .
23 Thank you for the dinner , but I 'm afraid it 's all been a waste of time .
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