Example sentences of "could n't [verb] [prep] [be] " in BNC.
Next page| No | Sentence |
|---|---|
| 1 | Lydia thought moodily that she could n't hope to be as boring as Dr Wyn if she tried all night . |
| 2 | I thought we 'd been getting on pretty well but as Father 's Day approached , Joe made it clear that I could n't hope to be any more than just second best |
| 3 | The furthest section of the aquarium is a mass of caves and rockwork and there 's so much activity that you could n't fail to be entranced , whether you 're a cichlid fan or not . |
| 4 | ‘ I could n't fail to be , could I ? ’ |
| 5 | ‘ I could n't stand to be there . |
| 6 | But at the moments you wish you were shot of the whole thing you know perfectly well that it 's precisely because you could n't endure to be without it , now you know about it , that you 've got to go through all this . |
| 7 | But still he could n't cope with being only ordinary . |
| 8 | He backed away from her in mock fear , but he was still laughing at her and though she meant every word , she could n't continue to be angry with him . |
| 9 | He could n't continue to be so churlish in the face of Betty 's open-hearted goodwill . |
| 10 | He could n't admit to being afraid of a breath of air . |
| 11 | I could n't bear to be married if I had n't … ‘ |
| 12 | ‘ In the end I could n't bear to be anywhere else , ’ she said , and added that if such practices had been going on in the islands as were alleged , everyone would have known about them . |
| 13 | The couple had just got married and could n't bear to be apart . |
| 14 | At the time I could n't bear to be parted from my new little owl . |
| 15 | I could n't bear to be in its thrall for another day . |
| 16 | He just nodded as if he did n't want to speak , and then at the bottom ( it was vanity , I could n't bear to be lumped with Caroline ) I said , I 'm sorry my aunt said that at Kenwood . |
| 17 | How could I have possibly explained without hurting you that I could n't bear to be near you , because you no longer felt like my mother ? |
| 18 | Marion whispered and turned away because she could n't bear to be there when something died , when all the love that she had bottled up inside herself evaporated like liquid left out in the sun . |
| 19 | ‘ I could n't bear to be separated from Jeff for three weeks . |
| 20 | And I could n't bear to be with women I did like because it reminded me forcibly that they did n't turn me on . ’ |
| 21 | That meant she could n't bear to be touched . |
| 22 | no I 'm not no when I am I ca n't eat anything , if I was like that I just could n't bear to be even in the same room as anybody who 's eating , so no the urge of chocolate is possibly to do with fat |
| 23 | She could n't pretend to be sophisticated and flippant and terribly cool any more . |
| 24 | I could n't seem to be bothered to move . |
| 25 | We could n't claim to be anything else ; we could n't speak for the families of Terry Waite or Brian Keenan . |
| 26 | Zambia was not a squeamish person — could n't afford to be — but there were limits . |
| 27 | He knew that , ultimately , he had to toe the official line because , like any other player , he could n't afford to be put on the dole . ’ |
| 28 | He could n't afford to be spending his time here . |
| 29 | But , as he drew the car up outside her hotel and turned to look at her , Fabia knew that she could n't afford to be infuriated . |
| 30 | But she could n't afford to be angry — or to offend him again , she realised , and took a deep and calming breath . |