Example sentences of "[noun sg] had [adv] be a [adj] " in BNC.
Next page| No | Sentence |
|---|---|
| 1 | Telephoning Jonathan to break off the engagement had almost been a high point of comic relief . |
| 2 | Fishing had always been a major industry . |
| 3 | And it had been little comfort to realise — since he clearly could n't be bothered to even make the effort to get in touch with her — that her marriage had obviously been a disastrous mistake from the very beginning . |
| 4 | During the long post-war boom , argues Aglietta , such flexibility had not been an important regulating mechanism . |
| 5 | Sport had always been a prominent source of news in its own right . |
| 6 | In the printing trade , mobility had long been a traditional element in the organization of mutual support . |
| 7 | British Merseybeat had always been a no-go era . |
| 8 | James Clappison , Yorkshire South , said Mr Heath 's intervention in the campaign had not been a conspicuous success . |
| 9 | By 1857 when Agassiz 's Essay on Classification appeared , as an introduction to a never-completed work on the natural history of the USA , it was already difficult to believe that Noah 's flood had really been a world-wide catastrophe with animals surviving two by two ; indeed Agassiz 's work on ice ages had involved reinterpretation of data that seemed evidence of the Flood . |
| 10 | If the pain which he had whenever he had anything the matter with his finger had always been a throbbing pain , and the pain caused by anything the matter with any other part of his body had never been a throbbing pain , then now , on experiencing a throbbing pain , he would naturally associate it with his finger . |
| 11 | Of course , Jessamy 's arrival on the scene as Julius 's fiancée had obviously been a major crisis . |
| 12 | Benjamin Titford — the name had always been a popular one with the Carpenter family — was born on 15 December 1786 , and was baptised along with his ill-fated sister Lydia and brother Charles Thynne at St John 's on 27 May 1792 , Whit Sunday . |
| 13 | Leeds 's opening try in the 12th minute had also been a fine effort , spread over 70 yards and involving Schofield , Maskill and Izzard before Coleman went for the corner . |
| 14 | His eyes burned like cold blue flames and Polly wondered if that moment of soul-searing contact had simply been a cruel trick of her imagination . |
| 15 | Making the video had probably been a tense experience for her , the situation and subject preventing natural expressions , let alone laughter . |
| 16 | She explained that Gran had once been a famous singer and that she played the organ and was teaching Oliver to sing . |
| 17 | But the common story , so far as we can tell , was of a prospering contado helping a few of the citizens to be successful merchants , carrying local market goods and some from longer distances ; and if Francis ' father had not been a successful merchant trading into France , the saint would not have borne the name he did , nor suffered the intense reaction to his father 's worldly values which helped to inspire him on the path to poverty and heaven . |
| 18 | It was built about 16 B.C. and the fact that this area had once been a Greek colony probably accounts for its exceptionally fine detail and proportions . |
| 19 | He said Mr Gilbert 's twin role had never been a satisfactory arrangement . |
| 20 | If the pain which he had whenever he had anything the matter with his finger had always been a throbbing pain , and the pain caused by anything the matter with any other part of his body had never been a throbbing pain , then now , on experiencing a throbbing pain , he would naturally associate it with his finger . |
| 21 | No matter how he had changed — if indeed he had changed — that man had once been a sadistic brute . |
| 22 | The damned man had always been a total workaholic . |
| 23 | When I heard about the business of measuring and weighing I realised that all the care and effort I had put into keeping my secret had probably been a complete waste of time . |
| 24 | But the transition from French rule to Lebanese self-determination had not been an easy one . |
| 25 | The killing had not been a rational act ; when he did it , Alex Household had been mentally ill . |
| 26 | Her lot had not been a happy one : the husband whom she had only ever seen for a few precious weeks in all since their marriage had now left her a widow , without support and with a child and step-children to fend for . |
| 27 | Hickery Holler came into the world 6 weeks ago , but the sad little spider monkey had never been a bright glint in his mother 's eye . |
| 28 | Lucille 's home was very grandly called a château , though in truth it was nothing more than a large moated farm with a crenellated tower to remind passers-by that the building had once been a small fortress . |
| 29 | Local farmers preferred black or dark brindled animals in both breeds and some said that the Galloway had originally been a horned black animal with touches of white , or perhaps brindle with a white dorsal stripe and occasionally belted . |
| 30 | In addition to art and history , travel of any kind had always been a powerful addiction . |