Example sentences of "before [v-ing] [pn reflx] [prep] the " in BNC.

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1 He is probably downstairs , knocking back a stiff gin and tonic before submitting himself to the milder offering of champagne .
2 ‘ You had indeed , ’ Feargal said with an ironic little bow before seating himself in the armchair opposite his mother .
3 Now he was naked too beside her and making pantomime bows to his guests before launching himself into the night .
4 The ultimate accolade caps a dramatic rise for Platt who was rejected by Manchester United before establishing himself in the game with Crewe , then joining Taylor at Aston Villa and then going onto Juventus via Bari .
5 Their work points the way to a revision of plate tectonic theory and ideas about mountain building The USGS geologists , Mark Blake , David Howell and David Jones , have identified six distinct ‘ episodes ’ gradually creating present-day California Chunks of land came crashing onto the western side of the continent and spread out before fixing themselves to the existing coastline .
6 The position of the old inn made it attractive to wealthy friends of Royalty , wishing to change their clothes before presenting themselves to the monarch at Windsor .
7 Meg waited until she heard the main bedroom door shut before going herself to the bathroom .
8 Bobo ran to the back of her cage and Fifi had to scamper out of the way to save herself from being trampled , and then Bobo was storming back with a handful of straw and dung which she hurled at Donaldson before slamming herself into the bars and screaming loudly as they shook .
9 To get the best shots of the Falcon 's descent into an American football stadium Steve set up cameras inside the Hercules plane and attached to the freefallers themselves before positioning himself on the ground .
10 Gould was well aware of the descriptive shortcomings of his synopsis — Mere was simply not enough information available on Australian birds — but , cautious as ever , he needed to prove the strength of the market before committing himself to the ‘ grander work in prospect ’ .
11 Nevertheless , knowledge and skill can be acquired more quickly through a well-planned training programme , and you would be well advised to consolidate your early practical experience through further training before committing yourself to the full responsibility of your own farm and livestock .
12 I want to upgrade to a much larger reef tank in the near future , but first should I gain much-needed experience in keeping invertebrates before committing myself to the expense of failure with a large tank ?
13 He sat for more than an hour alone before dragging himself to the room , shutting the doors loudly behind him as he went .
14 As Russia 's only properly elected leader ever , he should hesitate before putting himself outside the law .
15 With a sense of impending doom heavy on her shoulders , she went up to their shared suite to have a long , relaxing shower before preparing herself for the fireworks that would inevitably , as night overtook day , follow .
16 She soaked herself with petrol before locking herself inside the back of the van for nearly a day .
17 So much so that he spent fully eight years in a succession of colleges before throwing himself on the tender mercies of the world .
18 His pursuer smiled grimly , and waited as many seconds as he dared before heaving himself over the wall with surprising agility .
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