Example sentences of "if [pron] have [been] a [adj] " in BNC.

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1 If I 'd been a religious and I would have thanked one god or another for the large number of kilocreds I was soon to collect , which would keep me from any kind of poverty for a long time .
2 I 've said all along if I 'd been a white man with my ability , I feel I 'd be a wealthy man .
3 In the middle of many clashes and difficulties were the men whom I had met , and to whom , if I had been a true friend , I might have given something of the faith and spirit which could have helped them find a better way for their people .
4 I have sometimes gone into it when the King was absent from Delhi and once pretty far I thought , for the purpose of giving my advice in the case of a great lady so ill that she could not be moved to the outward gate ; but a Kachemire shawl covered my head , hanging like a large scarfe down to my feet , and a eunuch led me by the hand , as if I had been a blind man .
5 By the time I left his office , I felt as if I had been an established outside-left for years , ’ Bastin later recalled .
6 If she had been a religious person she would have put it down to retribution for her sins , but she had lost whatever faith she had had in her years as the Madam of Dublin 's most fashionable brothel .
7 Still , she thought , bracing her shoulders , if she had been a real mother she would have had to endure many such problems with a teenage daughter .
8 In any case , even if she had been a skilled charmer it was not possible to allure somebody who slashed back at you like a master swordsman and drove the point in .
9 If she had been an ordinary teacher , trying to teach an ordinary sedentary subject like history or Latin , she would have been mercilessly flouted and mocked , but as it was she managed to get by .
10 If you had been a small shopkeeper with some money why might you have done the same ?
11 B. If you had been a young person in 1860 , like Jimmy Horsley 's great-grandfather , you might easily have been out of work .
12 If you had been a young person at the beginning of this century , you may have been in ‘ in service ’ , working as a maid or servant for a wealthy family .
13 It would have been a different matter if you had been a permanent assistant in the practice .
14 Perhaps if you had been a different sort of person — less sensitive , less driven by the bitterness of your mother … ’
15 If you had been an out-of-work farm hand near Inverness , or near Dumfries , why might you have been one of many who moved to Glasgow in the last century ?
16 You can have a biscuit if you 've been a good boy .
17 See if you 've been a bad boy .
18 If there 've been a whole series of articles articles about health or about food or something like that , no way are they going to do anything else on the subject , unless it 's , it 's brought in a very fierce readers ' letters column or something like that , in which case they may be open for another slant .
19 It was grey , and strangely motionless , as if there 'd been a sudden rush of concrete to his head ,
20 ‘ Well , that 's exactly what you 'd get if there 'd been a big explosion with everything starting out from the same place .
21 If an effective will to de-alienate Northern protestants in their attitudes to the republic existed , and if there had been a real change in the Irish catholic hierarchy 's position on such matters , then they would indeed have taken positive steps to support FitzGerald 's attempt to introduce such constitutional changes .
22 The Navigation Acts were complicated and applying the regulations would have been harder if there had been a great deal of trade between the colonies , but in the seventeenth century most of the trade of each colony on the American mainland or in the West Indies was with England rather than with other colonies .
23 He did not reiterate Mr Major 's claim that Nissan came to the region because of his party 's policies , but preferred to point out it would not have done if there had been a Labour Government in situ .
24 If there had been a loose lamp-post in sight I probably would have grabbed that .
25 Brian Langley , chairman of Athletics Canada , said : ‘ We would have been informed if there had been a positive test on any Canadian athlete . ’
26 He sued the defendant for procuring a breach of his contract with X. The action was dismissed because there was no contract , since the identity of the plaintiff was , in the circumstances , material to the formation of the alleged contract ; and alternatively , even if there had been a valid contract , the principle stated above would prevent the action from lying .
27 He tried to remember if there had been a particular shop nearby but he failed .
28 The music panellist said : ‘ If there had been a full panel meeting and if we had known certain things which were kept from us the decision might have been different .
29 One senior source said : ‘ Clearly if there had been a fundamental disagreement ( between the Prime Minister and the Chancellor ) then the Government would n't have raised interest rates . ’
30 The assumption will normally be met for long positions in shares , but for short positions the potential losses are infinite and , if there has been a substantial rise in the index , a short seller may be required to put up additional funds before delivery .
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