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Example sentences of "he [was/were] a [noun sg] " in BNC.

No	Sentence
1	These other girls — they take 'is 'and , they squeeze 'is cheek , they pat 'is 'ead , like 'e was a bébé !
2	Mind , when I give 'im the wallet and 'e looked inside it , 'e was a mite more pleasant , even if I could n't see nothing but 'is mince pies and 'is 'ooter .
3	And Lord 'Awke , the captain — well , 'e was a lord as was n't drunk as a … anyways , 'e turns round and says , ‘ Peel , yer orft . ’
4	The inn was his vessel , the valley was the ocean , out there before him were a horde of small boats and pirates , flare ships and decoys , occasionally an enemy frigate or two hoving over the crest of a hill , sometimes a rich galleon sighted nearby which had to be pursued and boarded .
5	On the desk in front of him were a pile of grey videotape boxes .
6	Behind him were a crowd of men and horses ; Hearthwares in full armour , their breaths steaming in the coolness of the morning , Myrcans standing impassively , indifferent to the cold but nodding to Isay as he approached , and a pair of pack mules trying to bite each other 's manes .
7	To his rear and flanking him were a group of grey tracksuited figures , armed with lethal looking machine pistols .
8	Near him was a door which presumably led to a room beyond .
9	Before him was a bowl of clear liquid , in which lay a complicated puzzle of interlocking rings .
10	With him was a friend dressed exactly the same .
11	He was lying stiffly on one side and curled close to him was a girl .
12	Close to him was a girl who rocked a sleeping baby and , when she caught his glance , she smiled sadly and held the baby tighter to save it from the snow flurries .
13	And in the Manse behind him was a girl , a child whom he had taken last night in a fit of lust and self-pity .
14	The relevant considerations are ( 1 ) that to talk of an interpretation may be to talk of something one consciously does , an action ( in the Brown Book the corresponding question was whether ‘ B derived that the object shown to him was a pencil ’ [ my italics ] ) ; and ( 2 ) that the possibility of an alternative interpretation ( using the word now not to refer to an action ) may not have occurred to the person concerned .
15	Facing him was a man — white , shaking and terrified .
16	In the crowd that surrounded him was a man called Jairus , who was the president of one of the local synagogues .
17	Harry decided that the embarrassment this caused him was a sign he was getting better .
18	Just to get to meet him and work with him was a thrill , but I got to kiss him , too !
19	‘ Actually , ’ he said , commencing slowly what every contrary sense told him was a venture into dangerous territory , the piece of history I had in mind was a defenestration .
20	I had recently stayed with him in Scotland : knowing him was a help , for I felt out of my milieu .
21	‘ He knew and I knew , the obvious thing for him was a yorker .
22	If you could catch what he said , it was often extremely funny , but hearing him was a problem .
23	Behind him was a kind of triptych with ferny foliage , to the left and right , enclosing a watery space in which rosy and silver fish shone between pond-weeds .
24	On realizing that there was someone at the door , he quickened his pace , so that our view of him was a fugitive one .
25	All he had on him was a couple of quid in small change . ’
26	The closest detectives got to him was a choice of 3 photofits .
27	The closest detectives got to him was a choice of 3 photofits .
28	Local people later told Derek that the man who had first approached him was a policeman .
29	‘ He did not know a great deal about navigation , although he had enough fuel to get to France , but all he had with him was a holdall with a spare pair of shoes , a sandwich and a sports diary with a map of the world in it . ’
30	God to him was a figure of terror , of impossible standards .