Example sentences of "of a few [adj] [noun pl] " in BNC.

  Next page
No Sentence
1 Any selection of a few new titles , therefore , is bound to be especially arbitrary ; I can only plead that I 've made it as wide as possible .
2 Spanish Masonry had its ultimate origins in the deistic humanitarianism of a few eighteenth-century esprits forts .
3 It does not move them that the cost of looking after the hundreds of thousands of Thais who are likely to be infected by 1995 will far exceed that of a few cancelled holidays .
4 One unexpected spin-off was the growth of a few genuine friendships .
5 Meanwhile pacifists were generally content with the abstract moralizing suggested by the Manchester Guardian 's opposition to the formation of a Liberal Foreign Affairs Committee on the grounds that the ‘ success or failure [ of foreign policy ] depends on the application of a few simple principles to facts which as a rule are not very numerous nor very complicated . ’
6 This might consist of a few simple rules and procedure to control decision-making and conflict , for example .
7 This could be replicated , at least superficially , by boiling in a concentrated caustic soda solution to give a white patination ; the addition of a few rusty nails would then turn the patina brown .
8 We are not talking of a few fanatical terrorists , we are talking of a nine million-strong nation in the heart of the Balkans .
9 If I chose not to reap the benefits of this scheme then I might consider the fate of a few ungrateful citizens who had thought likewise and then seen their homes repossessed , had been inflicted with uncanny storms that ripped tiles from roof and threw chimney stacks into the street , had undergone torment at the hands of timeshare salespeople , had been billed for new and exorbitant taxes and had been struck off their doctors ' registers .
10 Ironically , the actions of a few Western governments , led by the United states and including Britain , could finally kill off the nodule-mining industry before it even begins to operate , and all in the name of protecting the industry .
11 A new generation of middle level developing countries is facing the difficult transition from being exporters of a few traditional commodities and receiving most external finance in the form of official aid to a varied pattern of trade and production , combined with use of more commerical loans or investment .
12 IBM 's talk of a few orderly spin-outs could prove naively optimistic and it could be forced to jettison whole businesses that , under more favourable conditions , it would wisely prefer to retain , imperfections and all .
13 With the exception of a few intervening slabs , the routes are always steep , rarely less than overhanging or more than 25m , on near perfect rock and well equipped with bolts and chains for ‘ moulinette ’ .
14 If that means throwing hundreds out of work , or depriving families of a few extra pounds by delaying interest rate cuts , then so be it .
15 The fitting of a few extra valves solved the problem .
16 The real power lay outside the House of Commons , in the hands of a few rich magnates and aristocratic landowners .
17 As Veljanovski points out , ‘ if wealth is concentrated in the hands of a few rich landowners who buy Rolls Royces and caviar , then allocative efficiency will be consistent with the poor starving and the economy 's productive capacity channelled into the manufacture of these luxury items .
18 If you look through the components lists of a few recent projects you will no doubt find some that only use common components , but most seem to use at least one or two ‘ specials ’ .
19 These changes have , of course , encouraged non-Marxists to argue that Marxist theory is now invalid because power is no longer concentrated in the hands of a few economic owners and their friends .
20 There are a few other initiatives that , for a capital sum of a few million pounds , hold the prospect of bringing forward such a radical transformation of the immediate circumstances of poorer people , and the extent to which they control their own lives .
21 Well for the sake of a few million pounds the Conservatives will slash this area , that area , will say we need to close this unit , that unit .
22 Probably the waves cut the cliffs of weak killas far back inland , over a period of a few million years .
23 If the land is all eroded into the sea in a matter of a few million years , how does the system keep on running ?
24 With the exception of a few large-scale programmes ( Giaretto , 1982 ; Sgroi , 1982 ) and a single case study ( Kolko , 1986 ) , little is known about the suggested success of specific approaches .
25 As Smart 's editors have shown , the wide range of reference would easily be available within the compass of a few standard books , which he knew and could have obtained in the Bethnal Green asylum .
26 The death — house had been transformed into a smoking carpet of a few scattered embers .
27 Here and there gleams as of a few scattered pieces of silver marked the windings of the great river ; and on the nearest of them , just within the bar , the tug steaming right into the land became lost to my sight , hull and funnel and masts , as though the impassive earth had swallowed her up without an effort , without a tremor ( 5 ) .
28 ( 1 ) , " suggesting ruins of stone walls ( 2 ) , " looked solid ( 2 ) , " Corresponding in their insignificance " ( 4 ) , " as of a few scattered pieces of silver ( 5 ) , as though the impassive earth had swallowed her up … " ( 5 ) , " mitre-shaped " ( 6 ) .
29 The crag contains a great selection of classic climbs ; it would be a pity to lose access to it because of the thoughtless actions of a few loud-mouthed oafs .
30 Charles … allowed himself for the sake of a few thousand pounds to be regarded as a greedy and litigious landlord rather than as a just ruler or as a national king .
  Next page