Example sentences of "[was/were] [verb] [pron] [prep] an " in BNC.
Next page| No | Sentence |
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| 1 | To the rapid , repetitive beat two glistening bodies were contorting themselves into an impossible position , their backs horizontal to the floor and no more than a foot from it . |
| 2 | With their assistance , gears and warped carburettor components and portions of armour major and minor were assembling themselves into an enormous baroque weapon . |
| 3 | She had stayed there , always conscious that she was preparing herself for an existence of unutterable boredom , and was one of an enormous number of women who were training themselves for an ‘ if I do n't marry ’ life . |
| 4 | what instructions had been given to the architects as to the ground they were to cover ; how far Parliament would be bound by the decision of the Commission [ of Judges ] ; and how we were to guard ourselves against an expenditure which we had been told by high authority would amount to not much less than £5,000,000 or £6,000,000 … |
| 5 | It is significant , and ironic , that their twentieth-century successors were to define them as an ‘ intellectual aristocracy ’ . |
| 6 | It is easy to have an opinion about a moral issue like capital punishment , but if you were to discuss it in an essay you would usually have to give your reasons . |
| 7 | In effect the Berlin banks who loaned money to the Junkers were paying themselves through an agricultural clearing house in East Prussia . |
| 8 | Lazy-lidded grey eyes in a dark , chisel-chinned face were regarding her with an insulting trace of laughter somewhere in their depths . |
| 9 | A more serious problem was what to do with the soldiers who , now accustomed to fighting and to war 's many attractions , were finding themselves without an occupation . |
| 10 | The blue eyes were studying her with an intentness she found exceedingly disconcerting . |
| 11 | Presumably he believed that though his wife might join in a little family intrigue against him , she would not want to carry her opposition to the point of war — particularly if that were to involve her in an alliance with her ex-husband . |
| 12 | ‘ Perhaps he was using it as an office , ’ the agent suggested , kindly . |
| 13 | There was no sense in expecting any help from the boy , the only thing to be done was to exclude him as an irresponsible minor from the consideration of his own fate . |
| 14 | It occurred to Cassie that he was keeping himself under an unnatural control , like a muzzled animal . |
| 15 | This man was lodging himself like an irritating burr under her skin . |
| 16 | She probably imagined she was comporting herself in an attractively provocative and feminine fashion , thought Lydia , sneering and lengthening her stride . |
| 17 | If I was interviewing you as an , as a member of the institution as a , a local spokesman |
| 18 | Such inspiration on the captain 's part was to help him towards an OBE , for with England then beating Australia in the first two games of the final , their clean sweep of three trophies out of three was accomplished . |
| 19 | It had been owned by the Turner family , and my aunt 's builder husband had bought it from them and was turning it into an apartment house when he was called up for service with the Army . |
| 20 | Instead I was getting myself into an increasingly confrontational situation , a battle of wills , with the Director of Coaching . |
| 21 | As the abrasive words poured into her ears , he was moving her against an ornamental lacquerwork cabinet of hip height and bending her backwards , a hand dealing with the intricacies of her bustier with a sure skill that bore witness to a wealth of experience with even the most esoteric of feminine garments . |
| 22 | He was threatening them with an extraordinary general meeting of the club . |
| 23 | While householders fumed in queues to find out how they should pay , he was sunning himself on an Indian Ocean holiday . |
| 24 | That way , he would be left alone without worrying why no one was asking him for an autograph . |
| 25 | ‘ I 'd hoped for so much from that class since I was taking it at an American university , but — ’ |
| 26 | Patrick did n't need to be a doctor to know that his mother was drinking herself into an early grave . |
| 27 | He was regarding me with an indulgence that did not convince me . |
| 28 | He knew well enough that convincing politicians was a tough job , so his plan was to present them with an informed and insistent electorate of the future . |
| 29 | He saw the work that I examined and dealt with , and on the Tuesday , I was saluting him as an inspector . |
| 30 | She had stayed there , always conscious that she was preparing herself for an existence of unutterable boredom , and was one of an enormous number of women who were training themselves for an ‘ if I do n't marry ’ life . |