Example sentences of "[conj] had [verb] [prep] a [adj] " in BNC.
Next page| No | Sentence |
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| 1 | After a week of fighting , the war that had begun with a thunderous high-tech blitzkrieg in the skies over Baghdad had not yet delivered visible proof of victory . |
| 2 | And while she was having a whisky and eating a piece of cake at eleven o'clock , in a hapless impulse to demonstrate and somehow fix her freebooting mood — though she saw the irrationality of it on a day that had begun with a clear insight that at least she would try to equal his thinness even if she could never hope to achieve the frugality of his expectations — just as she was leaving the last part of the cake , she would think of a better way to write the note . |
| 3 | The 5Os was a time when the hatred , fears and austerities of wartime Europe were still in recent collective memory , as were the two ounces of mildewy cheese that had to do for a whole week 's ration in those blackout , blitz and Mother Hubbard 's cupboard days of the previous decade . |
| 4 | For all that they were wrapped in fog , the revolver that had appeared in a gloved hand was all too visible to Sergeant Joe . |
| 5 | But all the will-power she could muster could not shut out the desolate sense of emptiness that had closed like a cold hand round her heart . |
| 6 | Thus began the last chapter of a case that had started as a simple bank robbery , then extended into one of murder and fraud , and drugs . |
| 7 | She went to bed in her own room , still full of pictures and possessions that had belonged to a previous and vanished Phoebe . |
| 8 | A tall , prematurely white-haired man in a navy blue suit , with eyes that could focus on you as if you were a fly that had settled on a distant door-knob , he could dominate a large room while seated behind a desk at one end of it and without raising his voice above a conversational level . |
| 9 | Their so-called furnished accommodation had consisted of two old beds that had come from a second-hand shop , a brokendown settee , and a gas cooker that had probably been used all through the war . |
| 10 | ( 18 ) About four months before the time I am writing of , my Lady had been in London , and had gone over a Reformatory … |
| 11 | These people had been driven from their homes with nothing but the clothes they stood up in and had struggled through a war-torn countryside , sometimes in sub-zero temperatures , to reach a refuge where food , shelter and warm clothing were in very short supply . |
| 12 | The event had been going through a lean period and had degenerated into a glorified booze-up , but there were some who were interested in keeping it alive and they got together to decide if they were going to let it go or make an effort to put it on its feet again . |
| 13 | I just got a bit tipsy , that 's all , and had to sleep in a spare bedroom at the house . ’ |
| 14 | As for the hair which used to be trimmed by a top London stylist and had swung in a smooth shoulder-skimming bob , it had not been cut for months and was now bundled unceremoniously on to the top of her head . |
| 15 | When she was in her fifties and had grown to a generous obesity , her husband would whisper proudly to his dinner guests as they stood in front of some glowing nude or abstract construction , ‘ Wonderful artist , was n't he ? |
| 16 | Reserve Marine Myles Morley , 37 , from Greystoke , Cumbria , developed eyesight problems and had to move to a lower altitude . |
| 17 | We lost our home — there was no way Mum could afford to go on living there — and had to move into a little council house . |
| 18 | The President had seen the polls forecasting heavy defeat and had decided on a high-profile last-ditch effort to free the Iranian hostages . |
| 19 | He said : ‘ The car had crashed through a wall and had overturned in a marshy field . |
| 20 | Furthermore , Radio Venceremos ( the FMLN radio station ) claimed on May 29 that " special " Honduran troops had entered San Miguel department in El Salvador on May 27 and had engaged in a four-hour clash with Salvadorean forces , inflicting " numerous casualties " before being forced back into Honduras . |
| 21 | Love , the second round leader , could not maintain the pace he set over the first two rounds and had to settle for a third round 71 . |
| 22 | Colin Montgomerie , a British Ryder Cup player last year , who was also making his first appearance , had a 72 but David Feherty , who played steadily for 12 holes , ran up a seven at the 13th and had to settle for a 73 . |
| 23 | If the deceased had led a reasonable life and had died at a good age without too much trouble , leaving a reasonably good family behind him , what was there to be miserable about ? |
| 24 | The gist of the note was that the vessel ahead of us was on the suspect list and had arrived from a foreign port . |
| 25 | On the ground , in accordance with the order , 5 Corps had already entered negotiations with the Soviet authorities to take them over , and had come to a final decision ( reported to Eighth Army ) on which groups were to go . |
| 26 | The gasman had told us it would blow up and had stuck on a waning sign to remind us . |
| 27 | McLeish , warmed by the fact that she had taken the trouble to find out a bit about him , confirmed he had been at Reading University and had worked as a young sergeant in the Flying Squad . |
| 28 | A communiqué issued after the meeting said that delegates had declared Iraq to be a " democratic federal country " , and had agreed on a federal structure based on wilayats or provinces , reportedly as a gesture to Islamic parties which had insisted on Arab-Islamic nomenclature . |
| 29 | He had been feeling a bit better for the last few days : He had repaired the fence between the Britches and Ron Paget 's yard , filled two black plastic sacks with rubbish and had embarked on a vigorous assault upon dead and decaying trees . |
| 30 | He had driven to Roker in Sunderland and had walked for a long time on the beach , contemplating suicide , but had driven back to his son 's home . |