Example sentences of "before [pers pn] could [vb infin] " in BNC.
Next page| No | Sentence |
|---|---|
| 1 | Before I could gather myself properly , I found myself being dragged across the desert at more than thirty miles per hour by the wind … . |
| 2 | I then noticed how large the Wrasse had grown , snatching the food from my fingers before I could offer it to my other fish . |
| 3 | Before I could pull 30 kilometres , now only half that . ’ |
| 4 | But he was taken away before I could discover his history — as you know very well . ’ |
| 5 | It was as though playing in the Wendy House was something I had to do before I could settle to weightier matters . |
| 6 | Oh a long time , er , matter of years really before I could settle down at , as I say to me it was roots |
| 7 | I work as a freelance translator , and I 'd have to find out what opportunities there are here before I could decide . ’ |
| 8 | It was across the before I could shout and say come back . |
| 9 | I sat for about three quarters of an hour before I could continue the journey . |
| 10 | My eye fell on a page she had left on the kitchen table the other day and I had noted , before I could avert my eyes , a pretty scholarly history of my conversion to double-knotting , after an incident when I was unable to get out of the train at Greenwich one evening and found myself being carried on to Maze Hill , because someone was standing on the trailing lace of my shoe . |
| 11 | Before I could deliver another , he had grasped my wrist and we were fighting face to face , nearly falling into the fire as we did so . |
| 12 | I got on before I could change my mind and we bounced around for a few minutes . |
| 13 | I loved the programme and the people but I made the decision to leave at the right point , before I could grow bored . ’ |
| 14 | Before I could answer his questions he remarked slowly , ‘ You know , Boyo , I had a bloody good dream . |
| 15 | Before I could answer , he barked , ‘ Right , fall out . ’ |
| 16 | Before I could answer , Paddy emerged flashing a torch in our direction . |
| 17 | Before I could answer , a shrill peal of laughter cut through the air like fingernails dragged down a blackboard . |
| 18 | Before I could answer , the fish expert butted in with ‘ Oh that 's just a shuddybunkin . ’ |
| 19 | Charlie did his stuff before I could answer . |
| 20 | ‘ Your boots are muddy , ’ she said , then before I could answer , ‘ You may use this room for hearing cues if you wish and going over parts . |
| 21 | ‘ Did you enjoy the piece ? ’ he asked , and before I could answer he went on , ‘ I myself did not . |
| 22 | He went on before I could answer . |
| 23 | I think I would have to see your soul before I could answer those questions . ’ |
| 24 | But I do n't know anything about selling things , only before I could tell that to the woman who owns the stall she 'd rushed off to follow someone called Harry — who 's not getting away with it , ’ she tacked on comically . |
| 25 | Before I could twist my face into anything faintly resembling a sneer , the vendor explained that there were four such structures in a similar state of repair and that a Frenchman had expressed great interest . |
| 26 | Happily Lendl 's humour resurfaced when he was asked what difference marriage had made : ‘ Before I could do everything I wanted to do , now I have to ask . ’ |
| 27 | Before I could do anything , two medics came sprinting along the path from the direction of the big house . |
| 28 | A slim attractive girl in jeans hovered near , her pose suggesting I could approach her ; but before I could do so Señora Sanchez accosted me . |
| 29 | Before I could do this someone snatched my handbag and made off with it . |
| 30 | I had a real ambition to ride round Badminton , but had a terrible fall which left me with two broken legs before I could do that . |