Example sentences of "could [adv] have been [adj] " in BNC.
Next page| No | Sentence |
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| 1 | If she could only have been sure … |
| 2 | As will be seen in Chapter 7 , this itself could only have been due to current Roman catholic social teaching on mixed marriage . |
| 3 | He points to a single red blossom that quivers on a nearly invisible thread attached to a garland of synthetic butterflies and rhinestone-dotted flowers — a bizarre piece of headgear so tacky it could only have been custom-made . |
| 4 | Nevertheless , Jules could not have been serious in his suggestion that she might for one single instant consider becoming Monsieur 's mistress . |
| 5 | It was a modern brick house that could not have been cheap to buy and the name on the gate said COSY NOOK . |
| 6 | These sudden changes of level could not have been conducive to the movement of carts and animals about the establishment . |
| 7 | To take again our example , Shakespeare could not have been other than Shakespeare ( and , of course , Bacon could not have been other than Bacon ) , but — theoretically — any number of people might have written Macbeth . |
| 8 | To take again our example , Shakespeare could not have been other than Shakespeare ( and , of course , Bacon could not have been other than Bacon ) , but — theoretically — any number of people might have written Macbeth . |
| 9 | The recruitment of volunteer , contract armies could not have been successful unless the war had been widely popular . |
| 10 | Had he heard the evidence now placed before us , he may not have been wholly convinced by it but , in my view , he could not have been sure that the appellants had knowingly breached the court order and , therefore , he could not have been sure that they were in contempt . |
| 11 | Had he heard the evidence now placed before us , he may not have been wholly convinced by it but , in my view , he could not have been sure that the appellants had knowingly breached the court order and , therefore , he could not have been sure that they were in contempt . |
| 12 | His recovery from ‘ giddiness ’ was so complete that it could not have been real . |
| 13 | The rental of such an office could not have been great , but it was little things which often had a quite disproportionate impact upon burgh councillors , for such a move would give tangible proof that the party which could arrange it had the ear of government and could thus effect other , and perhaps more far-reaching , changes . |
| 14 | It could not have been easy to hump awkward loads up and down the wobbly death trap . |
| 15 | It could not have been easy for these men to deliver flocks and herds safely to their destination and the advent of motor transport must have been a blessing to animals . |
| 16 | Her decision represented the final abandonment of a lifetime 's loyalty and could not have been easy to take . |
| 17 | In the yard at the back , a slow burning bon fire added to the pong which could not have been good for those living nearby . |
| 18 | Author 's Note : — The compilation of earlier chapters of this book could not have been possible without Abraham Farrar 's researches to point the way . |
| 19 | It was unclear whether Japanese armed forces would be developed significantly but given the covert encouragement given by General Willoughby and others to Japanese defences — of which the Soviet Union could not have been unaware through intelligence activities — disquiet was bound to increase . |
| 20 | There was lack of comprehension at how it could have happened and why the 63th Army could not have been relieved , and little consolation for bereaved relatives in the official interpretation of ‘ heroic sacrifice ’ . |
| 21 | Both establishments had open fronts so that conditions for employees could not have been pleasant during the winter months . |
| 22 | Second , he could not have been certain that any successor he designated — even Pompidou — would have been elected in December . |
| 23 | Former Mossad colleagues have insisted hotly that Harari could not have been involved in the drugs trade , but he is clearly a hard man to defend . |
| 24 | ‘ When you consider what a great ambassador for the sport Gary has been , for him to come out and say what he has , then obviously things could not have been right . |
| 25 | This , on any basis , could not have been right . |
| 26 | They watched a woman , who could not have been long in this country , testing a mango for ripeness : she felt it all over with her thumb , not looking at it , concentrated , unsmiling , until the stall holder , ever-vigilant , caught sight of her . |
| 27 | Yet he could not have been long in the water . |
| 28 | She paused too , just before she reached him , and he felt the whole thing could not have been stage-managed better . |
| 29 | The appointment of Dulles could not have been welcome to him , for Dulles carried great weight in the Republican Party and would rival his own authority as the principal expert on Japan . |
| 30 | ‘ A properly directed minister acting reasonably could not have been satisfied that a public inquiry was unnecessary in the present case , where two substantial groups with conflicting views were involved ’ , he held . |