Example sentences of "[adj] [noun pl] have [been] a [adj] " in BNC.
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| 1 | Oral contraceptives have been a common and important cause of secondary hypertension , which may become irreversible and occasionally lethal . |
| 2 | Unlike most European countries where a close association between unions and political parties has been a longstanding phenomenon , US unions have little close and direct connection with political parties and have relied very heavily on collective bargaining rather than political activity as the means of achieving their ends . |
| 3 | The house price collapse of the last few years has been a terrible dose of cold turkey for the home owning classes , but has it been a long enough agony to drive out the idea that there 's something inherently beneficial about rising house prices . |
| 4 | Perhaps one of the most important developments of the last few years has been a steady but widespread trend towards protectionism . |
| 5 | But these last few years have been a potent reminder of what the union movement was originally about in terms of ensuring just reward for work , and enlightened protection for workforces . |
| 6 | All the sound and fury of the past few days has been a desperate diversion designed first to draw attention away from the unemployment figures , the inflation figures , and the figures for businesses closed and homes repossessed ; and , secondly , to draw attention away from what the Labour party is actually saying , and for the simplest of all reasons — they know it makes sense . |
| 7 | ‘ These past few days have been a living hell for you and for me . ’ |
| 8 | Watching on for the past few weeks have been a small handful of experts , among them Jim Railton of The Times , who 's been following the Boat Race for twenty years . |
| 9 | Some observers went further and criticised him for seemingly assuming that progress from civil through political to social rights has been a painless historical process . |
| 10 | French-style café-bars have been a runaway success over here because they address a market which had previously been actively excluded by the ‘ pub tradition ’ — namely women . |
| 11 | Hip dysplasia in breeds such as Retrievers and German Shepherds has been a weighty and controversial subject for decades . |
| 12 | Studies of social change in rural communities have been a major theme in rural community work since the early 1950s , when the first typologies ( some of which have already been discussed in Chapter 4 , and notably in Tables 4.6 and 4.7 were developed . |
| 13 | A possible explanation of this is that Ecgberht was indeed regarded as Ealhmund 's heir and that Ealhmund in turn inherited from King Ecgberht of Kent a local overlordship of south-eastern England which in varying forms had been a recurring feature of historical development in the area since the time of Aethelberht , son of Eormenric . |
| 14 | Although such linkages have been a key feature of the development work done in the Central Institutions , linkages have also been set up between HNC/D courses in Further Education Colleges and both CIs and Universities . |
| 15 | While understanding such economies has been a central aim of Western economists for two hundred years there is a great deal which has not yet been understood . |
| 16 | The gymnasium , swimming pool and even classrooms have been given a new lease of life as part of a timeshare development — such facilities having been a positive attraction to buyers . |
| 17 | The welfare of these hens has been a controversial issue for many years , and for the past five years we in the Department of Animal Husbandry have been conducting research into ways of improving their welfare . |
| 18 | The insights of the church growth movement in showing the impact of culture in these areas has been a major contribution to the Church 's understanding of its missionary task in recent decades . |
| 19 | The background to these concerns has been a deepening crisis in the capitalist economic system — to which some argue the growth and behaviour of the state sector has itself contributed . |
| 20 | However , one of the most significant trends of the last three decades has been a steady growth in the number of women in the labour force . |
| 21 | The Bosnian refugees have been a pitiful sight to the world during the months of conflict with Serbian Militia . |
| 22 | The last two or three years have been a testing time for the 180 people who work at Angered . |
| 23 | The policy of developing a diverse range of domestic uses by a moderate price policy and vigorous but selective appliance sales promotion might in these conditions have been a reasonable one . |
| 24 | They had tried to head these off , but because they could slip into the lanes and wynds of the town , this had proved difficult , Ramsay interrupted to demand whether one of these fugitives had been a tall man in shirt and breeches ; but they said that in the darkness they could not tell . |
| 25 | Question answering systems have been a central project within natural language understanding . |
| 26 | The repeal of these laws had been a persistent demand of human rights and opposition groups . |
| 27 | To make the most of beneficial planetary influences had been a principal object of Marsilio Ficino ( 1433–99 ) , one of the first scholars to give the practice of magic the semblance of respectability . |
| 28 | Cloke ( 1980a , p. 98 ) suggests that this may be because the concept of ‘ key settlements has been a cosmetic justification for a policy created merely out of economic expediency and administrative pragmatism ’ . |
| 29 | Many secondees had been a considerable time in their pre-secondment posts and were looking for variety . |
| 30 | Three All Black thrashings have been a cross Welsh rugby has had to bear alone , as in the same period , since June 1987 , this is three times more than any other home country has had to bear . |