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Example sentences of "can not [verb] be [adj] " in BNC.

No	Sentence
1	The only thing the Tories ca n't tax is fresh air .
2	Wigglesworth has remained calm , coped with the aggravations and resolutely has soldiered through the work , saying only that what he ca n't bear is orchestral apathy .
3	I told you about the pains , ’ — she is holding her stomach — ‘ and the thing I ca n't bear is this week the children have them too . ’
4	The previous year she had read about energy-efficient homes — ‘ being Australian , I ca n't bear being cold , ’ she says .
5	I ca n't bear being dependent upon other people .
6	The only thing you ca n't do is soft those , we can do diamonds , erm , the only thing you ca n't do is pearls
7	Upper-class types who ca n't cope are thinner on the ground than they were , but in an exalted sort of way William Waldegrave is one of them .
8	You ca n't stop being common by telling lies .
9	What these critics apparently ca n't stomach is that wealth creators have a tendency to acquire wealth in the process of creating it for others .
10	I ca n't help being thankful I did n't have to cope with it .
11	‘ They ca n't help being new , poor things .
12	Perhaps Monica Seles wakened them with her grunting : did you know she fakes her first service ? = = At eight on the Saturday morning , I piled two disco-bleared daughters , a pick shovel and lump hammer into the car and drove through the drizzle to Lou 's home base of Barkway — a village which ca n't help being close to Royston , the place where caffs shut in the lunch hour .
13	‘ In the depths of my heart I ca n't help being convinced that my dear fellow-men , with a few exceptions , are worthless . ’
14	The audience ca n't help being delighted when business whizz Katherine goes skiing and breaks her leg .
15	It 's not the buying them that 's cunning , it 's just that I ca n't help being grateful ( I did n't actually say I was grateful , but I was n't sharp ) , it 's that he presents them so humbly , with such an air of please-don't-thank-me and I-deserve-it-all .
16	‘ People ca n't help being silly , ’ she said rather shyly .
17	I ca n't help being curly .
18	It was a dirty trick to put it into to poor Mary Lou 's desk said Jean , she ca n't help being scared of things I suppose , she almost jumped out of her skin when she saw it , I should of thought any joker in our form would of been decent enough to popped it into say Alicia 's desk , not if it happened to be Alicia who popped it in said a sly voice , you do so love playing tricks do n't you Alicia ?
19	Yes well erm I mean you ca n't help being aware of past experiences .
20	White Men Ca n't Jump is funny , touching and slushier than a wellington boot full of dog 's wee .
21	‘ What I ca n't understand is this . ’
22	There 's a sort of cosy sentimental glow coming over everyone who 's talking about , it ca n't have been all that wonderful , all the time somehow !
23	But then , hell , he should know — there ca n't have been many other pop entertainers from the Cheshire market town to play here .
24	But then , hell , he should know — there ca n't have been many other pop entertainers from the Cheshire market town to play here .
25	What the figures do n't show is the effect of the overall increase in labour turnover on standards : it ca n't have been good , and this helps account for some of the loss of business .
26	In that era , so much of the day was spent climbing in and out of the correct clothes that there ca n't have been much time left for recreation .
27	Ca n't have been much of a life .
28	‘ He ca n't have been much fun to live with ; his wife would n't necessarily have been heartbroken , ’ Guy commented drily , finally releasing her and going in search of a large box of tissues .
29	They ca n't have been bilingual last time because they were hired from Staffordshire County Council .
30	At the Brixton Academy one stated : ‘ Last night , there ca n't have been two hundred people at the gig and I sold twice as many burgers and hot dogs than I did today .