Example sentences of "would [vb infin] preferred [art] " in BNC.

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1 I 'd have preferred a book that told a few truths , or even a few lies .
2 ‘ I 'd have preferred a bottle of Chardonnay to be quite honest , but that did the job . ’
3 I think I 'd have preferred the seaside .
4 But if you were going and choosing a pa , a film , I 'd have said you 'd have preferred the Hulk Hogan one .
5 Although Britain would have preferred no envoy at all , seeing that as an unnecessary intrusion to internal affairs , the appointment of a fact-finding mission is regarded as an improvement on a peace envoy .
6 I knew Oscar would have preferred a quieter , less raucous venture , on a weekday perhaps , but I had to work on certain days and those days came up during his visit .
7 However the Occupational Pensions Board called for a pensions tribunal and Tony Thurham , chairman of the Association of Pensions Lawyers , said : ‘ Many pensions lawyers would have preferred a tribunal since it would probably have had greater powers and more staff .
8 We would have preferred a six-month trial period and controls to prevent abuses . ’
9 He would have preferred a special health-service pay factor , but had to settle for an above-average offer to the nurses , who most certainly were the priority group , having fallen badly behind over the previous ten years .
10 He would have preferred a showdown with Gina , but it was fun to watch Eleanor fighting her by stealth .
11 WHILE the European Commission refused to give any public reaction to the Tories ’ victory , senior Brussels bureaucrats made little secret of the fact that they would have preferred a more pliable Labour government .
12 It is no secret that many business leaders would have preferred a new assertive Chancellor .
13 Personally I would have preferred a review of what software exists , and whether I require access to a PC or a Cray supercomputer .
14 She really would have preferred a cup of tea , but could n't refuse when they 'd gone to so much trouble .
15 It seems certain that Louis-Napoleon would have preferred a prolongation of his power by legal means , but in the long run it was equally clear that he would not shrink from a confrontation with the opposition .
16 He believes fans would have preferred a more lavish packaging for ‘ Bizarro ’ and that its fierce edge might have been a reaction to signing with RCA .
17 Instead of a free subscription to an obscure journal ( which came with the registration fee ) many listeners would have preferred a decent abstract list — not to mention fewer unimaginative and time-worn presentations .
18 Personally , I would have preferred a more neurasthenic approach to the Berg — more febrile and phantasmagorical — and a slightly faster tempo for the first movement of the Stravinsky , as though it were the tightest clockwork mechanism .
19 Occasionally I would have preferred a more urgent tempo for the most turbulent responses , such as ‘ Seniores populi ’ ( track 6 ) and ‘ Tradiderunt me ’ ( track 10 ) .
20 He suspected that some of his departmental heads , particularly BH Morgan , the Works Office Engineer , and Stephen Mansell , the Maintenance Superintendent , would have preferred a more relaxed setting in his private sitting room next door , the low , comfortable chairs , a few hours of chat with no set agenda , perhaps a drink together afterwards in a local pub .
21 He would have preferred a spinning wheel for her to sit at , but one had to move forward with the times .
22 Unlike his younger brother , Nicu , Valentin would have preferred a life of anonymity .
23 On the other hand he could work at all hours of the day and night — much to the dismay of his advisers and household servants who would have preferred a more predictable routine .
24 McGovern appealed to the young , anti-war , reforming wing , while the hardened professionals would have preferred a " safe " candidate like Hubert Humphrey .
25 The YCs speaker was implicitly emphasizing the commonality between national and international interests within capitalism ( or ‘ the west ’ , as he would have preferred a term which suggest geography rather than politics ) .
26 In the Liberal cabinet the majority was against allowing the PLA and Lord Devonport to be coerced by the Transport Workers Federation into a settlement ; Lloyd George and Haldane would have preferred a minimum wage for all dock workers and disliked Devonport 's intransigence , but were outvoted .
27 Fewer would have preferred a permanent job ( 29 per cent ) .
28 If anything , the Sylvie of old would have preferred a noisy wake , frenetic dancing , a bacchic rite .
29 She would have preferred a romantic candlelit dinner for two , but even more , she wanted Josh to see David as one of life 's pluses and not as an interloper .
30 More than half of our first intake acknowledged that they would have preferred a traditional course , having the study of literature as its principal component .
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