Example sentences of "they [vb past] been [v-ing] [prep] the " in BNC.

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1 He had n't said he was going away and renting his house , which was odd because they 'd been chatting in the village not two days before he 'd disappeared and Leo taken up residence .
2 They 'd been strolling through the individual gardens within the whole for more than two hours , while Rune told her about the traditions of the gardens and how , despite attempts at imitation , they remained unique in Europe — if not the world — before they reached the area set aside for the funfair and he suggested she might like a ride on some of the attractions .
3 One reason I was disappointed is because what it says in these minutes , Robert 's people reported they 'd been speaking to the R and Abbey Leisure Service in London that had been considerable interest in the Edinburgh Festival Programme and in everything
4 It was the Russians they 'd been listening to the whole lot .
5 It ran beside a broad , shaded boulevard of feathery pepper trees , and the sudden sight of European-style buildings made him reflect that the jungles , fields and villages through which they 'd been moving for the past few hours had remained unchanging throughout many centuries .
6 We probably lost them on the Beltway , and they 'd been chasing round the Virginia countryside trying to pick me up … those things only have a range of about three miles . ’
7 Lone travellers , they 'd been talking at the bar , and Lily had said how much she enjoyed dancing .
8 The two teams arrived in the northern capital from Beijing where they had been competing in the Asian Games .
9 Erm and so therefore er they , they knew tools that they had been using since the period of the war , erm were gradually being overtaken by the new types of ceramic tools .
10 The American people told him at the polls what they had been screaming from the rooftops for two years .
11 With Dara once more clinging firmly and rather painfully to her arm she was walked back to the small , intimate table they had been sharing on the edge of the small dance-floor , but Ace was quickly on to his feet , side-stepping Dara 's attempt to greet him with a kiss .
12 Furthermore , a settlement arrangement was made whereby the creditor countries could exchange on a monthly basis their accumulations of the weaker currencies ( which they had been buying in the EC exchange markets ) for some other form of reserve asset .
13 They had been drinking for the best part of an hour but none were drunk .
14 They had been drinking in the local dockyard club in the company of Maddison and his fiancee , Deborah Scott , 29 , and all four had left together .
15 You may lose some credibility with the clientele if you demolish him or her with a blitzkrieg attack only to find later that they had been looking for the nearest toilet !
16 All three were still dressed in what they had been wearing in the camp : corduroy trousers , khaki shirts and pullovers and big nailed boots .
17 Thiercelin , for instance , had no idea of the fact that they had been listening to the work of the greatest composer of the day .
18 Reluctantly realizing that major investment from the City was increasingly unlikely , they had been concentrating on the unions and council pension funds .
19 They had been fleeing from the pursuing cloud front , but now they were charging to meet its attack .
20 They had been playing with the Bic lighter in a bedroom at their grandparents ' home .
21 Other European countries said that the new British Government would be positive and co-operative and would put forward proposals for bringing about the completion of the European Community , for which they had been working for the past 40 years .
22 Mr Siddle , of Hesleden Avenue , Acklam , Middlesbrough , said they had been working on the operation the previous day and the pipe kept jamming when attempts were made to slot it into place .
23 Writing the software was somewhat tedious , but having to work at this level did help the designers to get away from preconceptions about interaction which they might have had if they had been working within the input/output facilities provided by a conventional mini or mainframe operating system ( for example , that it needs a RETURN to terminate user input or that the operating system can properly handle the echoing of characters to the terminal ) .
24 He had told Mr Gibson they had been walking past the barn and had gone in for shelter .
25 He had told her about the cannabis bed a few days ago when they had been walking in the garden and her eyes had widened in shock .
26 Betty would have been upset to know that they had been talking of the devil .
27 It was alleged that at first the railway company denied that they had been travelling on the train at all , and it was indeed suggested that the two children were chance victims of the holocaust and they happened to be wandering by the railway at the time .
28 Although this was the exact opposite of what they had been saying in the previous year , it was consistent in suggesting that there was a conflict between leaders and members .
29 They had been fighting on the same side in a war which is often erroneously characterised as an ethnic conflict ; fighting for what the Serb guerrillas call the ‘ Muslim side ’ .
30 Here is a moment when the danger to the dismasted Hurrying Angel becomes apparent to the exhausted crew as the light grows and they can view the sea they had been fighting in the dark :
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