Example sentences of "[was/were] [verb] for a [adj] [noun] " in BNC.

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1 Train services on the Esk Valley line were delayed for a short time and the Sprinter train was allowed to continue its journey after it had been examined by experts .
2 There was pressure from the Liberal Democrat leader , Paddy Ashdown , for Mr Smith to declare firmly which way the Labour Party would be voting when the bill came up for its third reading , which many of the rebels were targeting for a full-scale revolt .
3 The Leeward Islands had tried to ignore Carlisle 's lieutenant-governor as early as the 1630s , and when the islands became royal colonies in the 1660s they were treated for a short time as separate communities , with each island being regarded as an individual colony .
4 Only 45 patients ( 36% ) were referred for a nephrological opinion , an annual rate of 51 ( 95% confidence interval 32.8 to 60.2 ) per million total population , or 62.1 ( 45.3 to 83.1 ) per million adults .
5 He had some troublesome followers who were clamouring for a positive policy without being able to suggest one .
6 Probably the first time that tsunami were blamed for a particular deposit was in Sir Edward Bailey 's brilliant exposition of the origin of the Upper Jurassic boulder beds in eastern Scotland , discussed in the last chapter .
7 It was nice of them to let me join in , they were very patient , but you could see they were itching for a good game and I 'm just hopeless .
8 Species that were numerous around the boat and which were caught for a cursory examination only ’ were released again alive , ‘ the operation ’ , Gould maintained , giving ‘ not the least pain to the bird , the point of the hook merely taking hold in the horny and insensible tip of the beak . ’
9 These were done for a particular customer that wanted them buffed .
10 Jane Barker 's first poems were written for a small coterie including many Cambridge scholars , along the lines of the ‘ Society of Friendship ’ of her literary model Katherine Philips [ q.v. ] ; and when she moved to London in the 1680s , some of these poems were published in the unauthorized Poetical Recreations ( 1688 ) .
11 These were leased for a nominal sum from a very understanding Tangmere Parish Council .
12 Those of the French , the majority , who at least implicitly gave their allegiance to Vichy France , were prepared for a wary collaboration with the Japanese and as Admiral Decoux , the French Governor-General appointed by Marshal pétain , always maintained , they were determined , no matter what happened in France , to preserve the French position in Indochina .
13 They were prepared for an unyielding defence of their two flocks of 10,000 battery hens against the Ministry of Agriculture and the 10 burly ex-miners who form the ministry 's chicken-killing squad , ever-ready to wring a feathered neck .
14 Our judges were looking for a healthy shine , superb condition and fabulous movement and after much deliberation , Louisa Nicholson was chosen as overall winner .
15 If you were looking for a physico-chemical reason for this fact rather than the , more usual , historical one you could do worse than suggest a capacity to make helical molecules .
16 We were looking for a good flavour and meaty texture .
17 President of the Board of Trade Michael Heseltine denied Tory MPs were looking for a new leader , saying : ‘ We know that so long as we keep our nerve and pursue policies that are important we can come through .
18 You probably remember , erm , a stimulating little book published last year by Frank on the Impulse to Philanthropy , where certainly in his nineteenth century analysis of the growth of philanthropy , he saw to main things , evangelicalism , which er , meant that people were going out looking for converts , and therefore doing good social work on the way , and the growth of the women 's movement , in the sense that women otherwise unemployed were looking for a new area of activity to get into .
19 By the time the General Election arrived eighteen months later , there was a good candidate ( Malcolm Thornton , now MP ) , a renewed constituency organisation and time for the people of Crosby to realise that they 'd done in that panicky moment when they were looking for a familiar face as their Member of Parliament .
20 As to the much discussed pearwood wall panels , Italo Rota explains : ‘ We were looking for a simple idea that would allow visitors who had already looked at a good many paintings to connect some of them with unfamiliar settings ; the art of memory tells us that it is easier to retain images in one 's head if one can link them to a specific space ’ .
21 ‘ If you were looking for a real boost to the industry then these first 10 days should have been much better , ’ said a City analyst .
22 Producer James Roose-Evans and Bryan Bailey , director of the Belgrade Theatre , Coventry , were looking for a young actor to play the lead role in the French comedy Head of the Family .
23 IF you were looking for a local Pillar of Society , you did not need to seek further than Brian Courtenay .
24 Most were looking for a local representative .
25 Judges said they were looking for a pleasing colour , a sharp flavour and a good fruity smell .
26 The Labour Department said the figures were in line with economists ' forecasts , but many were looking for a modest reduction .
27 We were looking for a big house in Southampton .
28 These were not necessarily the shy or reserved ones , who were quite likely to be snapped up by ‘ parents ’ who were looking for a quiet life .
29 They originally thought they were looking for a medieval leper hospital , but then they uncovered a skeleton almost two thousand years old .
30 McLeish thanked him , scrambled up the embankment , drawing in deep breaths , and walked carefully down the side of the track in the sizeable footsteps of his squad , explaining to them that they were looking for a sharp-edged weapon .
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