Example sentences of "could [adv] [vb infin] [vb pp] a [noun sg] " in BNC.
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| 1 | Disagreements in the church about the point at which one could not compromise left a legacy of schisms in the Nile valley and in North Africa , where the rancour of the Donatist schism persisted until the Muslim invasions swept them away four centuries later . |
| 2 | He felt that Woolley had no right to be so contemptuous , so damaging ; Killion alone could not have stopped a bombing raid ; besides , had n't he just destroyed two , maybe three of the enemy ? |
| 3 | Melanie could not have supported a laughing , singing Victoria for breakfast and Uncle Philip might have struck the baby , which would have been dreadful . |
| 4 | The decision is justified on the grounds that there was no guarantee that the plaintiff would receive any of the fine and that Parliament could not have intended a workman to be deprived of the chance to seek compensation for his injuries . |
| 5 | To achieve it he had to work on individuals , exploiting relationships which were not open , public ones : he could not have called a meeting to appeal to everyone 's obligations as a relative by descent and by marriage , as if these were of the same kind as those of a citizen , an Arab or a Muslim . |
| 6 | He could not have borne a mirror in the room with him now , for fear of what he might see ; in his heart he knew that it would be unrecognisable , as he failed to recognise the turmoil of his own feelings as having anything to do with the self he had always known . |
| 7 | Even Hazel could not have said a word for his life . |
| 8 | He could not have milked a cow , and he poked pigs much more often in cartoons than in the farmyard . |
| 9 | This set Jean Powers off on a torrent of exclamations and denials so that Helen could not have got a word in had she wished to ; she stood and looked at Giles Carnaby and tried to be calm . |
| 10 | Mr Thomson said Mr Wilson could not have got a bus to the area where he was found , which more than a mile from a road , and he could not have walked the distance on his own . |
| 11 | If the censor ever allowed any of the story to appear in the newspapers , there would be tales of hot pursuit and near interception — the hot pursuit line giving the l.O.s particular pleasure as the fighters mentioned were Defiants , which everybody knew could not have caught a cold . |
| 12 | Ropes were then put on to keep it there but these alone certainly could not have restrained a 5-ton ( 5.08 tonnes ) elephant if it had taken it into its head to dismount during the journey . |
| 13 | Even at their height , the number of these ‘ misfits ’ , many of whom ‘ could not have found a profession under any circumstances ’ , was very limited . |
| 14 | And the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents warned that he could easily have suffered a heart attack . |
| 15 | I could easily have become a scapegoat . |
| 16 | South America could easily have had a marsupial anteater , alongside its marsupial sabre-tooth " tiger " , but as it happens the anteater trade was early filled by placental mammals instead . |
| 17 | He could easily have got a foot stuck and he would have drowned . |
| 18 | ‘ Someone in his financial position could easily have got a doctor 's certificate to pull him out of tournaments but to his credit he never even considered it . ’ |
| 19 | You could easily have borrowed a book from your local library and come to the conclusion that the specification of the 5086 was perfectly state-of-the art — whereas in fact it is now looking really rather old fashioned . |
| 20 | SHORT of selecting a dead student , the Nobel Prize Committee could hardly have made a choice more calculated to embarrass and enrage the Chinese leadership . |
| 21 | If Puddephat had been at the flat in Paris on Friday evening , he could hardly have squeezed a trip to Germany in between . |
| 22 | English mathematics had been in a contemptible state for so long that one could hardly have expected a solution to such an important problem to come from that quarter . |
| 23 | They may be summarised as follows : if it appears that facts existed from which a constable could reasonably have anticipated a breach of the peace , as a real and not as a remote possibility , and the constable did in fact anticipate such a breach , he is under a duty to take steps ( whether by arrest or otherwise ) as he reasonably thinks are necessary to prevent the breach of the peace from occurring or , as it may be , from continuing . |
| 24 | There must exist proven facts from which a constable could reasonably have anticipated a breach of the peace . |
| 25 | Arsenal could also have had a penalty when Campbell went crashing down as Forrest challenged him in the box for a Wright through-pass , but the referee dismissed their claims . |
| 26 | Some years ago Maisie had swallowed a whole bottle of vitamin pills and , although Henry had suggested that in his view Maisie 's stomach could probably have stood a diet of broken glass , aspirin and raw steak , Elinor had insisted on ringing Charing Cross Hospital . |
| 27 | ‘ But I 'm not at all hungry , really , ’ said Breeze , who could n't have swallowed a mouthful at that moment . |
| 28 | Unfortunately , as I said , my mother is allergic to feathers , so I could n't have kept a bird at home even if I 'd had one . |
| 29 | I could n't have run a raid yesterday , and I 'm certain sure he could n't . |
| 30 | Oh I could n't have done a quarter of it . |