Was

Examples

• He was undeniably a prosperous man, bore his drinking better than others bore their moderation, and, on the whole, flourished like the green bay-tree. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
• I told his impudence that the gilt pestle and mortar was quite ornament enough; as if I was born, indeed, to be a country surgeon's wife! William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
• Will was not quite contented, thinking that he would apparently have been of more importance if he had been disliked. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
• The talk was very often political or sociological, and interesting, curiously anarchistic. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
• It was already dark when we reached it. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
• Yet it was a hard time for sensitive, high-spirited Jo, who meant so well and had apparently done so ill. Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
• The tribe was a big family; the nation a group of tribal families; a household often contained hundreds of people. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
• His mouth was such a post-office of a mouth that he had a mechanical appearance of smiling. Charles Dickens. Great Expectations.
• The paper was first dipped into a solution of common salt, and then wiped dry, to diffuse the salt uniformly through the substance of the paper. Frederick C. Bakewell. Great Facts.
• Miss Vye's family is a good one on her mother's side; and her father was a romantic wanderer--a sort of Greek Ulysses. Thomas Hardy. The Return of the Native.
• Old Steiler was standing at the porch of his hotel. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.
• It was generally believed that there would be a flurry; that some of the extreme Southern States would go so far as to pass ordinances of secession. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
• Mr. Wopsle in a comprehensive black cloak, being descried entering at the turnpike, the gravedigger was admonished in a friendly way, Look out! Charles Dickens. Great Expectations.
• He bucked her out along the shore Qf the lake and as soon as she was reasonable they went on back along the trail. Hemingway, Ernest. For Whom The Bell Tolls.
• We have been on the look-out for him, and there was some idea that he had got away to America. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
• There his work was received with applause. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
• In each bladder was a small quantity of dried peas, or little pebbles, as I was afterwards informed. Jonathan Swift. Gulliver's Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World.
• It was not good for him to talk too much, and when he was silent, we were silent too. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
• The table was of the usual European style --cushions dead and twice as high as the balls; the cues in bad repair. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
• It was a thing to look at. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
• His walk was soft; his voice was melancholy; his long lanky fingers were hooked like claws. Wilkie Collins. The Moonstone.
• That depends,' said Mrs. Bardell, approaching the duster very near to Mr. Pickwick's elbow which was planted on the table. Charles Dickens. The Pickwick Papers.
• I believe that he would have come all the way had it not been that Dr. Ferrier, who lives near me, was going down by that very train. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.
• His first United States patent, No. 174,465, was granted March 7, 1876, and his second January 30, 1877, No. 186,787. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
• The porter lit it again, and I asked if that was all the light the clerk sent. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
• Sixteen shillings sterling, we are told by Mr Byron, was the price of a good horse in the capital of Chili. Adam Smith. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
• A departure was early made in the matter of strengthening the ribs of oak to better meet the strains from the rough seas. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
• It was very small, very dark, very ugly, very incommodious. Charles Dickens. A Tale of Two Cities.
• You needn't, if you don't like, ma'am,' was his answer. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
• It was late in the day before the whole inscription was erased. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.

Checked by Lanny