Example sentences of "were [verb] [pn reflx] [prep] the " in BNC.

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1 while country areas were bracing themselves for the influx of tragic refugees or louse-infested slave labour , depending on the children 's luck .
2 While all you fairweather golfers were fattening yourselves for the spring sunshine , I was running 15 miles a week in an effort to gain the necessary fitness for a 27-tournament season .
3 Shouts and curses echoed across the vault , and then they were hurling themselves down the steps .
4 Alyssia hesitantly walked in , and almost immediately saw her friend by the cash register , looking with interest at a couple of oldish women who had put on some very garish dresses and were inspecting themselves in the mirror .
5 Thus , a number of professors of English and other influential educationalists were addressing themselves in the altered postwar environment to the issue of the disciplinary revisions required in order to produce " enlightened " bureaucrats , administrators , and teachers .
6 At the Taj , Indian families were grouping themselves for the professional photographers who swarmed over the central platform .
7 By October local players were establishing themselves in the City reserves .
8 If the bird were dashing itself against the bars , feathers flying , then the similarities to human suffering would arouse impulses to assist , even to release it , like the giraffe .
9 The hackers were surpassing themselves in the inventive ways they hit the ball badly , and often , and in the wrong direction .
10 Yet Chapman saw that the future of English football ultimately depended on the young , and he was particularly concerned to win youngsters over to soccer and away from rugby , a concern heightened by the fact that his two sow , Ken and Bruce , were distinguishing themselves in the rugby code .
11 Both of us were giving ourselves in the service of a third party .
12 At the start of the year , several firms were steeling themselves for the tough , face-losing decision to pull out of some markets — or out of the securities business altogether .
13 Off to one side , several men , still wearing their mail hauberks , were warming themselves before the fire .
14 Ironically , it ended just as the Giants were putting themselves into the play-off hunt with a 27–7 victory over the Green Bay Packers for their third straight win .
15 In these pre-Cubist paintings of 1907 and 1908 it is as if Picasso were preparing himself for the difficulties involved in creating a new style by taking stock afresh of some of the basic problems inherent in all painting since the invention of illusionistic perspective .
16 At the top of the stairs , somewhere beyond a short , misty journey , Jeopardy led Lucien into a room where a handful of musicians were preparing themselves for the coming performance .
17 You were congratulating yourselves on the fact earlier , I know . ’
18 Our terms of reference made it clear that we were to concern ourselves with the English curriculum for all pupils , whatever their mother tongue .
19 By the end of the tour kids were throwing themselves at the stage like little ‘ kamikazis ’ .
20 On the day arrangements went smoothly and we were settling ourselves on the 1220 ex Llangollen when Colin appeared in person , having done his work in the small hours and put our visit ahead of his sleep !
21 Duncan , Bert and I were to secrete ourselves behind the curtains along with Aspel , who was to demonstrate the trick with the help of his three ‘ assistants ’ .
22 He urged them to recognize that by not understanding the thought of India they were depriving themselves of the opportunity of serving India .
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