Example sentences of "had [be] [v-ing] [prep] the [noun] " in BNC.

  Next page
No Sentence
1 We had been taking into the adult wards men and women suffering from the most serious fevers , encephalitis lethargica , polio-encephalitis , serious poliomyelitis , with two ‘ Iron lung ’ cases in a special isolation ward and unit , tuberculous meningitis , and poliomeningitis were also with us .
2 Cormack had been swinging on the bar stool , fingering his wallet because Amanda 's appetite for food and drink had made his credit cards nervous , when he 'd seen the man in the raincoat in reception and the beer had spilled over his hand and left wet stains on the varnish for the boy to polish away .
3 The witness said Gary had been swinging on the metal posts on May 11 when they collapsed on his chest .
4 Breeze had been gazing at the lights for so long that she was quite dazzled .
5 Children were playing on the green , a wet labrador that had been swimming in the beck was drying out by the village cross , and there was just room amongst the people sat at the table outside the pub for one man and his dog .
6 She and Jack had been swimming in the Thames near Twickenham .
7 Robert could not have said why , but he had the strong impression that the engineering master , too , had been listening at the door .
8 He looked as though he had been there for some time , and Shelley had a funny feeling that he was looking studiously down to hide the fact that he had been listening at the door to her conversation with Mrs Richards .
9 At this Maria Candida , who had been listening on the stairs , let out a wail of joy at the thought that she would be seeing Portugal again ; Leonora went to embrace her daughter and whisper her blessings , while Gerald , who knew when he was beaten and was never any good in emotional situations , announced that he had important business in the castle yard , and would return as soon as he had attended to it .
10 For some time Leonard had been listening to the music of the day , which he shared with his mother and sister .
11 ‘ He 's not your servant , miss , ’ said Zillah , who had been listening to the conversation .
12 The officer commanding the militia had been listening to the conversation between the two men with growing unease .
13 Loretta turned to find that Geoffrey Simmons had been listening to the conversation .
14 Thiercelin , for instance , had no idea of the fact that they had been listening to the work of the greatest composer of the day .
15 Obviously he had been listening to the battle .
16 Ali had been listening to the discussion .
17 George Underwood : ‘ It was all instigated by David really , because he had been listening to the World Service on the radio and suddenly got the bug to get involved in American Football , and he wrote to the American Embassy asking for more information .
18 Robyn took a sip and wished she had been listening from the beginning .
19 He had been listening from the doorway ; now he marched into the room and glared at Mr Evans , his eyes hot with anger .
20 The other teachers had been drifting towards the fire , anticipating , perhaps , a bit of an argy about beating , or a discussion of the pros and cons of Europe .
21 The loss of Ozawa was seen by many as a serious blow to Kaifu 's position , not least because it removed the chief architect of the process of co-operation between the LDP , Komeito and the DSP which Ozawa had been constructing in the Diet .
22 On the first day the West Indian bowlers had been sparing with the bouncer , for on such a pitch there was no need for it .
23 In the apartment Sam Somerville had been dozing on the couch , once so favoured by Quinn , because it was right next to the flash phone .
24 He said the men had threatened his life , and even as he drove the victim to the beauty spot where the gang waited , one had been hiding in the boot of his car with a shotgun .
25 On arrival , the leading group met up with Bob Melot who had been hiding in the area for several weeks gathering intelligence .
26 If this went on much longer , the real Robert Wilson might emerge — that awful , jelly-like creature that he had been hiding from the world for the last twenty-four years .
27 Then , in the same gentle tone she had heard Travis use when he had been speaking to the woman he loved , he murmured , ‘ Leith , my darling , I just ca n't keep it to myself any longer — do you mind ? ’
28 At this point in his writing a white pigeon which had been fluttering round the swimming-pool alighted on the table , took two steps forward and excreted on the ‘ Jottings ’ , no doubt in the interests of historical accuracy .
29 This may well have been due to the satisfaction he had been deriving from the composition of East Coker , though he made no mention to me of the new poem .
30 There were few customers and the landlady had been leaning over the bar reading the Daily Mirror .
  Next page