Example sentences of "all [adj] could be [vb pp] " in BNC.
Next page| No | Sentence |
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| 1 | Law had indeed brought Asquith to the point of conceding all that could be hoped for from Ulster 's resistance , but he was unable to seize the fruits . |
| 2 | Working from these definitions , it seemed that secondary prevention included two very different situations , that is , early identification of comparatively mild problems with a hopeful outcome , and more serious problems involving risk , in which amelioration and containment might be all that could be achieved . |
| 3 | When the two girls left the smithy , Gay was carrying the wooden board — a rough affair that was all that could be obtained — and Breeze was leading on the end of a knotted string a small and ill-favoured specimen of doghood . |
| 4 | Grace had already taken in all that could be salvaged of Willis 's clothing , for drying and mending . |
| 5 | Like all long-term coughers he had developed a noise-reducing technique , and all that could be heard was a chuck-chuck-chuck sound that would go on for long minutes at a time , gradually winding down like a clockwork drummer until every scrap of air was squeezed out of his poor concrete lungs . |
| 6 | After what seemed an age all that could be heard were little hiccups . |
| 7 | All that could be done . |
| 8 | All that could be done was to work by analogy . |
| 9 | The front discs were changed and that was all that could be done . |
| 10 | For surely someone as gifted as that deserved all that could be done for him : and ‘ the gift ’ put it above any gossip about an overkeen schoolmaster bringing on a bright pupil and overrode any chatter about the besotted nature of his devotion . |
| 11 | It was all that could be done . |
| 12 | A handkerchief drenched in vinegar was often all that could be done but he added , ‘ I seldom enter an hospital or prison before breakfast ; in an offensive room I avoid drawing my breath deeply ; and on my return sometimes wash my mouth and hands . ’ |
| 13 | All that could be done that day had been done . |
| 14 | In front of the refrigerator lay the shape of a man , but all that could be seen were the backs of the calves , and the pale , poignant soles of a pair of bare feet . |
| 15 | Of the baby all that could be seen were two stiff arms poking up out of a manger well supplied with bright yellow straw . |
| 16 | Three screens showed views of the slim man 's shelter of rocks , but all that could be seen of the target were the streams of laser fire that issued from his blaster . |
| 17 | All that could be seen of Daak was his chainsword , silent now and held aloft as Daak disappeared through the hole he had cut in the floor . |
| 18 | All that could be said was that the judges and staff of the court would continue to do all in their power to reduce costs and lead times in the disposal of appellant business . |
| 19 | Firmness was all that could be said for it . |
| 20 | The area in which they lived was overcrowded and unsalubrious and if there was rather less unemployment than in the north of England , that was about all that could be said for it . |
| 21 | The speaker was short and stocky and that was all that could be said of him in the way of description . |
| 22 | So , it was in the ordinary conduct of party politics by men in pursuit of power that expectations , aspirations and objectives were reduced to an apparent simplicity , to a crudity of choice for which all that could be said was that it represented the national will . |
| 23 | There were exceptions , recognised by the statute and the courts , but this was not such a case ; all that could be said was that economic damage , perhaps very severe , might be done to the defendant if publicity were not withheld . |
| 24 | They represent by no means all that could be said : only study and practice can lead you to develop the ability to produce clear and precise meanings through the written word . |
| 25 | ‘ My lads did all that could be asked of them , especially as a couple of them had to work all night in order to get time off to play . |
| 26 | All that could be dredged up was that , apart from owning a property firm , Mr Zappala is also an active member of the Florida Policemen 's Athletic League . |
| 27 | The wretched state to which the company has been brought is nevertheless a tragedy , a tragedy for all the towns in America and across the world where IBM was until recently the biggest employer , a tragedy for all its surviving employees , who now have to operate in an environment pervaded with gloom and a sense of failure , a tragedy for all the data processing managers that made it their business to know all that could be known about the company and its products and culture , who now find their hard-earned knowledge is a rapidly wasting asset . |
| 28 | All that could be agreed would be to loan trained men for a specific operation . |
| 29 | In the light of their two powerful flashlights visibility was all that could be wished for and it took them only two minutes to carry out their examination : unless one is looking for some obscure mechanical fault there is very little to look for in an engine-room . |
| 30 | ‘ You did all that could be expected of any man , ’ said the abbot firmly . |