Example sentences of "[vb past] a long time [verb] " in BNC.
Next page| No | Sentence |
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| 1 | The 1988–89 Committee spent a long time agonising over the problem of how to keep the broadcasters at arms length , so that their editors would not be able to provide the signal in ways that might be journalistically attractive but would be repugnant to Members . |
| 2 | One group spent a long time comparing the different notes or tones produced when tubes of different width and length were blown or spoken down . |
| 3 | The shower was wonderfully soothing and afterwards she spent a long time drying her hair and putting on her make-up . |
| 4 | The Blancs , who have lived in the cottage seven years , spent a long time looking at many ranges before deciding on the white Miele kitchen with its terracotta trim . |
| 5 | So I spent a long time trying to hide the place . |
| 6 | They started in the Fabric Hall , and spent a long time fingering various swathes of cloth . |
| 7 | I spent a long time reading the advertisements . |
| 8 | Evolution Without Evidence is not a creationist broadside , but an interesting and well-written exercise on the theme that the young Charles Darwin became convinced of evolution but felt that he did not have the evidence to convince his contemporaries , and spent a long time getting it together and arranging it — so long that he was taken by surprise and had to get out the Origin prematurely ( as he always said himself ) . |
| 9 | After all , Jones spent a long time getting the wording right , and you wo n't be able to improve on it . |
| 10 | I know it sounds thin , sir , but I spent a long time getting no further than that and I do n't think we shall do better until we have an angle — some sort of leverage . ’ |
| 11 | On the morning of the day when Therese Aschmann was due to arrive in Hochhauser , Willi spent a long time getting ready before he went to meet her at the station . |
| 12 | It was about five years later when I was going away for a weekend and knowing that space in the car would be limited , I spent a long time thinking what sketching materials to take which would not need much room . |
| 13 | Moran spent a long time composing the letter . |
| 14 | I spent a long time diving frantically after them , jamming the sheet at a bunch only to see half of them streaking out the other end , and I might have gone on indefinitely had I not felt a gentle touch on my arm . |
| 15 | She never for a moment thought of deserting French for Mrs Hill , having encountered amongst other things some nasty problems about the nature of electricity , but she did enjoy the sensation of flirtation : she spent a long time making her mind up , and finally was summoned by the headmistress , who told her she ought to stick to Sciences , because they offered better prospects . |
| 16 | Dad spent a long time talking to our Pastor afterwards . |
| 17 | He and Claudia spent a long time talking to the police and to the accused man . |
| 18 | The girl spent a long time wondering whether she could pluck up courage to mention she 'd thought of going to the Swimming Gala if her mother really felt there was nothing she could do . |
| 19 | And so Willi was squeezing himself into his best suit , the one he wore for daytime ceremonial occasions , and had spattered himself lavishly with aftershave cologne , and spent a long time arranging the frill of curls round his bald crown . |
| 20 | The girls spent a long time putting their new wardrobe together . |
| 21 | I spent a long time photographing the falls , taken with their grace . |
| 22 | The properly trained hypnotherapist has , like the successful doctor , lawyer or musician , spent a long time studying , practising and perfecting his craft . |
| 23 | Caroline Rigby , a consultant from Manchester , spent a long time introducing the features and benefits of the various services to the Home Office forensic science laboratories in Wetherby . |
| 24 | Unfortunately , the driver spent a long time finding our house … ‘ |
| 25 | Unfortunately , the retired admiral spent a long time finding our house … ‘ |
| 26 | The driver , as it turned out , was a retired admiral , and unfortunately he spent a long time finding our house … ‘ |
| 27 | Type-cases too were heavy , and if one fell it took a long time to sort out the type again . |
| 28 | He 's a fabulous guy and very funny , but it took a long time , and I do n't take credit for it , but it took a long time to put him in a situation where I felt that he was at maximum ‘ comfortableness ’ , so that his shyness — and he was very shy — was overcome . |
| 29 | She agrees with Gnome Pfeiffer ( coauthor of The Experience of Infertility , Virago ) that feminists took a long time to put infertility on the political agenda , and she suggests that this is partly due to attitudes toward motherhood . |
| 30 | Richards won the toss and took a long time to decide to bat ; when he did so Dilley bowled superbly , and five wickets went down for just 54 . |