Example sentences of "can [not/n't] [vb infin] but [verb] " in BNC.
Next page| No | Sentence |
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| 1 | All their monstrous systems have so visible and necessary a dependence on it , that when this corner-stone is once removed , the whole fabric can not choose but fall to the ground . ’ |
| 2 | As you can not choose but see , he did not kill me . ’ |
| 3 | Some people can take or leave cigarettes just as they can take Or leave an alcoholic drink — Others find that however hard they try to stop smoking and however much they may be aware of the damaging consequences of continuing to do so , they simply can not stop but find themselves compelled to continue . |
| 4 | The next is Celebrant , the Silverlode which they can not ford but have to cross on ropes . |
| 5 | He can not work but wants interesting things to do in the day time . |
| 6 | When you look at , for example , the organisational structure of the thirty-two London Boroughs , you can not help but conclude that there are as many structures as there are Town Halls to fit around them . |
| 7 | I can not help but marvel over the miracle of cordless technology when perched 40ft high , drilling through roof rafters with a cordless tool , not having to worry about tripping over the cable or whether it 's going to rain . |
| 8 | The trouble with this manoeuvre is that it can not help but demote poetry . |
| 9 | Moreover , as Sperber and Wilson ( 1986 ) have shown , all stylistic choices , whether they be choices among linguistically determined possibilities or decisions about degrees of explicitness , are governed by the aim of optimising relevance , and can not help but reveal the speaker 's assumptions about the hearer 's contextual resources and processing abilities.7 Consider the difference between [ 18a ] and [ 18b ] : There is no difference in import . |
| 10 | You may tell me that your personal life is not my concern and that it is not for me to comment — and you would be justified however , I can not help but make it my concern because I have your future very much at heart . |
| 11 | You can use drama without specifically teaching about dramatic forms ( although in using drama as a learning medium , you can not help but make use of dramatic forms ) , but you ca n't effectively teach anything about the nature of dramatic forms without some sort of content . |
| 12 | As real estate asset , working accommodation and corporate statement , Porters South can not help but boost Fitch-RS 's fortunes . |
| 13 | Indeed , the Soviet press supported a query by the Indian Foreign Minister , N. Rao , in May 1981 about whether to permit Pakistan to remain in the Non-Aligned Movement with the assertion that ‘ Islamabad 's policy of all possible military rapprochement with Washington and the huge shipments of American arms that have been promised can not help but raise legitimate doubts among many member countries of the Non-Aligned Movement as to whether Pakistan is legally entitled to remain in their ranks ’ . |
| 14 | One chilling line read , ‘ The Rushdie affair can not help but set back hopes for an early release for the western hostages in Lebanon . ’ |
| 15 | One can not help but reflect on how much all of this emerging artistry stems back to the exhibitions of Tom Van Sant 's work in the USA and UK during 1976 . |
| 16 | And we can not help but contrast the generous appreciation of Dryden by Eliot , who might have been expected to be temperamentally less in tune with him . |
| 17 | It is amazing that in this age of guitar exotica , courtesy of PRS , Valley Arts and so on , most players can not help but become romantic and misty-eyed about an old Strat — even one that was made in Japan only a month or so ago . |
| 18 | When you look around , you can not help but ask him : Why bother ? |
| 19 | I am drawn to Cal 's guitar , and I finally can not help but ask if he will play a tune , something by Christy Moore . |
| 20 | The couple , however , seem confident that the problem is behind them and anyone with a love of the distance can not help but hope they are right , particularly in Olympic year . |
| 21 | Yes it has , and as my mind races back over nearly four decades I can not help but smile , how is it possible that everything has changed so much ? |
| 22 | Once can not help but speculate that the inventor of this launcher had little , or more likely no , experience of piloting an aeroplane . |
| 23 | I — I can not help but have become aware of the — the dissension at present raging between your … dependants . ’ |
| 24 | While I am only too well aware of the ailing state of the UK economy , I can not help but agree with the comments made by both Scottish Liberal Democrat leader , Jim Wallace , and SNP employment spokesman , Roger Mullin , in response to yesterday 's announcement of record Scottish unemployment figures of something in excess of 260,000 . |
| 25 | As I eat I can not help but notice the Frenchman attending to the pig ; he has now cut the animal 's throat and has set alight to the straw , the flames and smoke engulfing the unfortunate pig . |
| 26 | Peter Shillinglaw , secretary of New Brighton Lifeboat which had to go into action a few times , said : ‘ I can not help but think the organisers of this race have been very , very lucky over the years . ’ |
| 27 | It seems that work on the use of relevance feedback can not help but include an element of research in the design of adaptive systems . |
| 28 | One can not help but feel apprehensive that every step forward will have to be reversed on the return journey when energy is flagging . |
| 29 | The increased spending on health and education is welcome in every way , although those who work in schools and hospitals can not help but feel that they will be paying for it themselves by being denied pay rises . |
| 30 | Yet we can not help but feel that perhaps the establishment should be just a little bit less obdurate when confronted by new ideas . |