Example sentences of "[noun prp] [was/were] at [noun pl] " in BNC.
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| 1 | In an upbeat policy speech that marked the opening session of the Legislative Council , Sir David was at pains to show a government committed to building a future for the territory beyond the 1997 handover to China . |
| 2 | Indeed I pointed out to the Court that one year earlier , at the time of the National Bank Dispute , the Bank of Ireland were at pains to separate the Bank Assistant 's Claim from the main Claim which they had always stated was debarred by the P.E.S.P. |
| 3 | At the newborn London Rolling Stone , editor ( short-lived ) Jane Nicholson was at pains to point out that the paper was n't , in any way , underground' . |
| 4 | Meanwhile , as the Century was nearing completion , Gould was at pains to predict the most popular subject possible for his next publication . |
| 5 | But a far cry from the hard ones used to describe life a few miles away in Orlando where police spokesman Jim Soloman was at pains to spell out the dangers — and with no exaggeration . |
| 6 | Stocker was at pains to say : ‘ We have nothing which could be tested on humans … nothing yet which can help Aids patients or people infected with the Aids virus or any other virus . ’ |
| 7 | The hon. Member for Hammersmith was at pains to point out , in an intervention in my hon. Friend 's speech , how much he supports the Government 's policy . |
| 8 | One of the first things to catch the visitor 's eye when starting down from the castle esplanade is a cannonball lodged in the wall of a house , believed to have been fired from the castle at Holyroodhouse in 1745 when anti-Jacobite forces on the Castle Rock were at odds with Prince Charles Edward at the lower end of the town . |
| 9 | The weather in Malaysia was at times a wall of rain , forcing us to seek permission to land at Alor Setar . |
| 10 | One of Layton 's traits , as Leonard was at pains to emphasise , was to distinguish between priest and prophet ; and Layton is not slow to emphasise the historic conflict between both offices . |
| 11 | Mary was at pains to point out that these are badges and that the off-quoted ‘ crest ’ is merely an element of the overall design . |
| 12 | Giving birth in Edinburgh on 19 June 1566 , Mary was at pains to declare loudly to Darnley before a number of witnesses : ‘ God has given you and me a son , begotten by none but you . ’ |
| 13 | Laing was at pains to stress that at no time did he feel under pressure : ‘ It was that I 'd never been caught before and I did n't know what to do . |
| 14 | Mrs Thatcher was at pains to emphasise the Government 's commitment to the National Health Service . |
| 15 | Having said this , Martin Little at Trace Elliot was at pains to point out that their aim was to produce a high quality product using the best components available , but to keep the price down by supplying only the essential facilities in a standardised format . |
| 16 | Bickersteth was at pains to make clear that the time had come to discount " scientific " discourses as offering an appropriate professional identity for English studies : |
| 17 | As Lawrence and Lorsch were at pains to point out ( see Chapter 13 ) integration is as crucial to organizational success as differentiation . |
| 18 | Defending Marinello , a local solicitor Mr Richard Hewitt was at pains to point out that the accident was not a by-product of ‘ Swinging London ’ nor the result of a reckless bender . |
| 19 | Talk of this sort was mostly to raise morale , as McFarlane was at pains to say when his ‘ Secretary of State ’ remark was thrown back at him at the hearings . |
| 20 | Nevertheless , as AMEC was at pains to point out yesterday , for the next couple of years making money from housebuilding is set to be a struggle . |
| 21 | René was at pains during 1990 to deny any plans to change the one-party system , stating in February that events in eastern Europe had no relevance to seychelles . |
| 22 | Taylor was at pains to stress that Robson 's decision to retire had nothing to do with pique . |
| 23 | Holt was at pains to point out that from his garden , if he stood on tiptoe , craned his neck and employed both imagination and compass he could , perhaps , in the right light , makes out the Drus . |
| 24 | When the UN Visiting Mission made its various reports , Mambo Leo was at pains to explain British policy on political advance for Africans . |
| 25 | Like the less diplomatically suave authority , Theodore Haecker , whom Eliot was at times glad to call on , the author of Four Quartets and editor of The Criterion required us to take Virgil as , above all , the author of the Fourth Eclogue , the pagan poet who prophesied Christianity , whose vision of human history must accordingly be seen as completed and vindicated by The Divine Comedy . |
| 26 | They are not for sale , ’ she added sharply and Melissa was at pains to reassure her . |