Example sentences of "could [not/n't] [verb] [be] [prep] " in BNC.
Next page| No | Sentence |
|---|---|
| 1 | The contents , the observer thought , could not have been worth five dollars . |
| 2 | But bedtime was at the usual time and , though Francie returned very late , he was slightly drunk so he could not have been to church . |
| 3 | No one knew why , though the Dutch gunner Colonel opined that the reason for the Prince 's hasty departure could not have been of great importance , or else the Duke would surely have left with the Prince . |
| 4 | Unless the buyer can show that there was a latent defect present in the goods at the time of delivery which later became manifest ( and hence that the goods could not have been of merchantable quality at the time of delivery ) he may be left with no remedy . |
| 5 | When the French fleet , united with the Spanish , did threaten Cornwall it could not have been at a more perilous time . |
| 6 | But if these light rays were swallowed up by the black hole , then they could not have been on the boundary of the black hole . |
| 7 | Since the marks on Mary 's body were not necessarily inconsistent with Thornton 's claim that she had consented to sexual intercourse , and since the times on the morning in question when Thornton was seen walking home to Bromwich suggested he could not have been with her when she met her death , the jury found him not guilty . |
| 8 | It could not have been for lack of qualifications , for Moira had served seven years on the BBC 's General Advisory Council and four years as a director of Border Television ; so one can only assume it was because of my Liberal Party connections . |
| 9 | It could not have been for offside . |
| 10 | Tidal experts agreed that the body could not have been off Pilsey Island for more than 24 hours . |
| 11 | Save for this fluke I could not have been in the position in which I now found myself . |
| 12 | So too did many others , on both sides of the Pennines , not all of them obeying the mischievous hints of Captain Goldsborough , of course — since even he could not have been in so many places all at once — but intent on stirring up trouble nevertheless . |
| 13 | Since Soissons was part of Belgica Secunda it is argued that Clovis could not have been in a position to claim his father 's authority over that province until Syagrius and his kingdom had been destroyed . |
| 14 | Apparently Harry could n't tolerate being with other people . |
| 15 | Another noise , a continuous whistle , very faint and high , she could n't decide was in the walls or in her ears . |
| 16 | But the whole point of Pam being there , my being fostered , was if I could n't cope was for her to take over . |
| 17 | Singer Richard Fairbrass , stormed at the duo at No.12 with Magic Friend : ‘ They could n't have been at the same show . |
| 18 | If what he told Rose was true , he could n't have been at the belvedere after about a quarter to nine . |
| 19 | Now it was empty as it could n't have been for centuries , left to the tide and the sea birds . |
| 20 | Could n't have been for the sex if Rose is to be believed , so must have wanted you for dinner . ’ |
| 21 | I mean , so they could n't have been for er er Germany . |
| 22 | ‘ But it could n't have been like that . |
| 23 | But then , I 'm so lazy with this band I could n't imagine being in two bands at once . |
| 24 | Noel Blake was kicked out for exactly the same reason — he could nt handle being in a squad . |