Example sentences of "[was/were] not for the [noun sg] " in BNC.
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| 1 | The foregoing would , of course , mean that property rights were not for the dispensation of some imagined ‘ god ’ of early superstitious religion , but existed by virtue of the fact that human beings have , in the course of time , generally agreed that such a right was ‘ good ’ , for the reason that without it there could be no peaceful existence and no contentment . |
| 2 | The Rev Aaron Longwe , who has been detained and tortured by the regime for speaking out about corruption , told a gathering of former missionaries at the Kirk 's headquarters in Edinburgh : ‘ If it were not for the Church of Scotland some of us would have been dead by now . ’ |
| 3 | Well , Mrs. Jewkes , if it were not for the thought of that cursed parson I believe in my heart , so great is my weakness , that I could yet forgive this intriguing little slut and take her to my bosom . |
| 4 | If it were not for the possibility of physical delivery of the underlying cash market good by the seller of the futures contract to the buyer , there would be no mechanism to guarantee convergence of futures and spot prices . |
| 5 | He also remarked , significantly : If it were not for the Union , I venture to think that women would be all over the London trade . |
| 6 | Any cheers that met his statement — which was not heard in silence — were not for the General-Secretary but for his concessions . |
| 7 | Ironically , the Great War would not have been the war that it was if it were not for the machine . |
| 8 | If it were not for the fact that he was one of the favourites you 'd have been delighted but as a Gold Cup winner I had to feel a bit disappointed . |
| 9 | This would be a useful feature if it were not for the fact that a certain amount of vaginal discharge is perfectly normal and natural for a woman in her reproductive years ; and what is more , this natural discharge is subject to a fair amount of variation depending on the stage of the menstrual cycle . |
| 10 | This would not matter very much ( for it would always be possible for individual candidates to prove the expectation wrong ) , if it were not for the fact that whole papers in the final examination , or certain questions on papers , are to be ‘ differentiated ’ . |
| 11 | But why ( if it were not for the fact that one is a Christian ) should one be wanting to stay with the experience of women within the biblical tradition ? |
| 12 | He did not enjoy such visits now , and would have been tempted to abandon them if it were not for the fact that people might gossip . |
| 13 | From what has been said above , it will be clear that the Oxford English Dictionary Department would not be what it is , if it were not for the Supplement project lying at the heart of its work . |
| 14 | He would have laughed if it were not for the echo of the screaming in his head . |
| 15 | The clumsiness is evident in the standard of ‘ the reasonable man ’ , an anthropomorphic ( and male ) standard which might be taken to suggest a paragon of virtue if it were not for the context of partially exculpating a killing by such a person . |
| 16 | It would be idle to speculate on what the figures might have been if it were not for the security situation . |
| 17 | It is rather unexpectedly glutinous and flabby to the touch — all-in-all rather unpleasant , if it were not for the splash of vivid yellow it gives to an otherwise sombre winter hedgerow . |
| 18 | It was not for the court to manipulate the sentence ; this was a matter for the exercise of the Royal Prerogative of mercy . |
| 19 | Housewife Rita Davis , of Ilford , Essex , said : ‘ We would never have known what our taxes are going on if it was not for the Mirror . ’ |
| 20 | If Lord Chandos commissioned operas from Handel , it was not for the public 's enjoyment . |
| 21 | Yet nothing had changed since , and his worry now was not for the competition , but for what lay beyond , what would happen to Firelight when he left school in the summer and joined the ranks of the unemployed or , with doubtful luck , got on to his father 's building site . |
| 22 | Without in any way making light of the distress of the parents of Tony Bland , it is very important to keep a firm hold of the fact that Tony himself was not reported to be in any pain or distress ; so any change in the treatment he was receiving was not for the purpose of relieving acute suffering of the patient . |
| 23 | When he recovered , he had experienced conversion , and from that time on he refused all offers of writing work that was not for the glory of God . |
| 24 | The biggest cheer in this race , however , was not for the winner , it was for Barry Wright , who finished last of the four on top weight Midnight Madness . |
| 25 | It was not for the Government to pull the plug on a venture which was running and had cost Mr Murdoch ‘ vast amounts of money ’ . |
| 26 | The only thing he and Rangers lacked was a goal , but it was not for the want of trying . |
| 27 | Never a great footballing side , if it was not for the fact that they are in the same League as Athletico Whaddon , they would probably be known as the Athletico Whaddon of Division Three . |
| 28 | ‘ And ‘ t was not for the hand of a child that I wrote to your father a year later . ’ |
| 29 | He had withdrawn early with his guests , for they were bent on leaving next morning , and their business with him was not for the openness of the hall . |
| 30 | Shildon had excused his initial omissions on the grounds that he had concealed that he was engaged in work which was not for the business section . |