Example sentences of "[det] [was/were] [adv] an [noun sg] " in BNC.
Next page| No | Sentence |
|---|---|
| 1 | The Young King had been pressing for permission to go on a pilgrimage to Compostella but Henry II , believing that this was just an excuse to get away from his watchful eye , had instead ordered him to help suppress the rebellion in Aquitaine . |
| 2 | Is that what it is– ’ Or if I was to see the doctor and my girlfriend happened to be seeing the doctor as well , this was just an excuse , according to them , for us to be together . |
| 3 | This was just an excuse : the real reason they wanted to come was that they very much needed food at home . |
| 4 | But surely this was just an aberration ? |
| 5 | To Gosse , this was just an appearance ; and his book was ‘ an attempt to untie the geological knot ’ , though it might seem rather to cut it . |
| 6 | Figures 2.1 and 2.2 remind us that this was also an era of sporadic , but vicious , feuds between whites and what they saw as the invading blacks . |
| 7 | Conversation thus tended to be laconic and allusive and it sometimes scarcely seemed to possess a thread of connection between one remark and the next : this was however an illusion , seductive enough to a stranger ignorant of background , all the more so to a stranger not fully in command of the language . |
| 8 | The average number of quarrels per hour was three to four , although this was probably an underestimation . |
| 9 | This was probably an exaggeration , though the resentment was understandable . |
| 10 | This was probably an exaggeration . |
| 11 | Some of the crowd attempted to strike up with ‘ We shall overcome ’ but they were interrupted by a police loudspeaker announcement , which was shouted down ; this was probably an order to disperse but very few could have heard it . |
| 12 | Martin thinks that this was probably an oversight on my part and suggests that a simple s.p.s.t. toggle switch should be incorporated in the positive supply from the 9V battery . |
| 13 | Staff agreed that this was probably an area which needed improvement and discussion with parents . |
| 14 | This was surely an argument for getting involved in Boiotia , because it was too weak to resist effectively , rather than an argument for leaving Boiotia alone , because it was too weak to make trouble for Athens . |
| 15 | This was admittedly an exaggeration , but he wanted to emphasize the potentially disruptive effect of Robyn Penrose 's presence . |
| 16 | This was primarily an attempt to deal with synonyms which can not be conflated by a rule-based stemming procedure . |
| 17 | They were showing a film , The Life of Christ , and though this was clearly an illusion as well it had taken place in real life , and uncle was very much a believer . |
| 18 | This was already an element in the 1475 will , in which Edward left instructions for the continuance of grants made to ‘ divers of the lords as well of our blood as other , and also knights , squires and divers other our true loving subjects and servants ’ . |
| 19 | This was already an element in the 1475 will , in which Edward left instructions for the continuance of grants made to ‘ divers of the lords as well of our blood as other , and also knights , squires and divers other our true loving subjects and servants ’ . |
| 20 | This was more an increase in efficiency than in output . |
| 21 | Hungry for political office , they knew this was only an inoculation . |
| 22 | This was nonetheless an opportunity … for a clear and comprehensive understanding to be reached by the Bank . ’ |
| 23 | This was obviously an issue that could have affected other EPHs , and , after consultation with the OIC and the responsible officers at the department headquarters , it was agreed to pursue the development of a user requirement that would reflect the needs of this establishment and others within the local authority as a whole . |
| 24 | The received wisdom about reform came to be that ‘ research shows that nothing works ’ , that ‘ whatever you do to offenders makes no difference ’ , although this was always an exaggeration . |
| 25 | On the western side this was always an area characterised by a militancy which is presumably going out of fashion now too . |
| 26 | This has been dealt with above , and it stands on a quite different footing from the other forgeries in three important respects : first , it was never mentioned by Lanfranc ; second , it was not concerned with the claim to primacy but solely with the survival of the monastic community at Canterbury , and this was never an issue after 1070 ; and , third , unlike the forgeries with which we are now concerned , it was actually submitted to Rome and approved . |
| 27 | This was quite an achievement as there were many well-known archers at the meeting — the captain had arranged for the northern championship meeting to be held at the same venue on the three days prior to the Scorton shoot . |
| 28 | This was quite an achievement for an organisation only a few months old . |
| 29 | This was quite an accomplishment and the boss was very pleased . |
| 30 | This was certainly an underestimate , and altogether between 1962 and 1976 there were records for the breeding season from 35 sites involving a possible 38 pairs ; breeding was proved in 12 sites . |