Sentence examples for it was certainly better from inspiring English sources

While romanticizing the Senate of yore would be a mistake, it was certainly better in my father's time.

The Wye lineup was not perfect, but it was certainly better than what will be around in January — an unsettled Israeli government, a weak Palestinian administration on the West Bank, and Hamas waging war from Gaza.

Bush's share of the Hispanic vote is sometimes exaggerated – it was probably not much more than Ronald Reagan's was in 1984 – but it was certainly better than what Romney or John McCain managed.

And his musical strategy, it was, well, tolerable: his mellow version of "Flying Without Wings" was nothing special, but it was certainly better than hearing, say, the also-ran Kimberly Caldwell warble "Killing Me Softly With His Song".

"It was certainly better in the second half.

It was certainly better than the last five shows I've seen.

But it's certainly better than its predecessor.

And it's certainly better than nothing".

It's certainly better than average".

It is certainly better than available alternatives.(Photo credit: AFP).

"But it's certainly better than what we had".