Example sentences of "[noun sg] [verb] be the first [verb] " in BNC.
Next page| No | Sentence |
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| 1 | Few of Camille 's schoolmates , even had they been able to read and write , would go on to a career in the sciences , since the chemistry lab had been the first to succumb , years back , when the rules had just been relaxed and attitudes to education liberalized . |
| 2 | Christians involved in the relief of poverty have been the first to point this out . |
| 3 | While most interest has been attracted by the expensive buys , one of the cheapest lots on offer has been the first to grade . |
| 4 | Rural housing had been the first to receive attention because it could be regarded as the responsibility of each landowner ; but the housing in towns was literally nobody 's business and could pass unnoticed , just as factory hands could be laid off in a recession , as farming labourers with tied cottages could not . |
| 5 | The Squadron had been the first to receive the Lancaster in December 1941 , and W/C d'Arcy , the Squadron 's commander , was anxious to find a Lancaster for display at Waddington as a reminder of the unit 's close association with the type . |