Example sentences of "he could [verb] was " in BNC.
Next page| No | Sentence |
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| 1 | He made his way slowly along the dust track as rickets had disabled his knees and the only way he could move was to shuffle his bare feet slowly along the hard-packed mud track . |
| 2 | She brought her husband to help but all he could offer was a shrug which was no comfort at all . |
| 3 | He did not have the skills and when he tried to imitate them , as he did in pushing the WIN program , all he could offer was a parody of leadership . ’ |
| 4 | Less than a week later Churchill made a speech telling the British people that ‘ All he could offer was blood , toil , tears and sweat ’ , and strangely this united the country behind him . |
| 5 | When the judge told him the only sentence he could pass was that of life imprisonment , Meehan said loudly and clearly , ‘ I want to say this , sir . |
| 6 | The only person he could tell was his mother . |
| 7 | Cheeks smeared by tears and mascara , she was helping him to stand and all he could think was How can she still have mascara after where she 's been ? |
| 8 | To Peggy Say , Anderson 's sister , it seemed that some particularly keen sympathy compelled North never to turn down her requests to see him , when all she would do was sit at his desk upbraiding him and complaining and crying ; and when all he could do was repeat , cryptically , infuriatingly , that the government was doing everything it could possibly think of . |
| 9 | The best he could do was to save a match point and take the third game . |
| 10 | No , the best he could do was to fortify himself with the Nielson family , and wait a century or two . |
| 11 | When Mr Crangle asked him how he was getting on , all he could do was smile . |
| 12 | All he could do was sit in the corner of his cage , hoping it would all end . |
| 13 | All he could do was smile and wriggle his toes in delight . |
| 14 | He found it hard to think , never mind talk ; all he could do was wait . |
| 15 | All he could do was chip out and hope to make par . |
| 16 | Now all he could do was wait . |
| 17 | He said he 'd noticed that our Mini was getting a bit down at heel , and in the light of Ken 's injuries he thought the least he could do was to give me a better means of transport . |
| 18 | At Rouen , he finished third , a lap down , and at Brands Hatch , crucified by the pain in his wrist and driving mostly one-handed , the best he could do was sixth place . |
| 19 | With Rufus it did to some extent come back again and all he could do was grind it down and soldier on . |
| 20 | Horror-struck , all he could do was slam on the brakes and pray . |
| 21 | All he could do was watch and report back . |
| 22 | All he could do was wait . |
| 23 | There was a strange moment then , when he knew the bastard was still in the room , still watching him , and all he could do was wait for him to leave . |
| 24 | The best he could do was to take up a central position in the ward , using a chair for a hassock , and to make a general supplication for all the patients collectively . |
| 25 | Sam was so relieved at the news that mother and child were well that the fact that he had n't won the wager was nothing to him , and when he first laid eyes on the baby all he could do was kneel down and weep for joy . |
| 26 | Without his aid , Edward was bound to negotiate for peace with Scotland ; but the best he could do was to conclude a thirteen-year truce in 1323 . |
| 27 | They came on him rapidly and powerfully and he decided that all he could do was to circle in a gentle way to indicate that he was not hostile , his heart filled with joy to see his own kind . |
| 28 | I kept on popping questions , he would n't answer , all he could do was look as if I had no right to ask . |
| 29 | But all he could do was describe the look of the equipment on the gun deck . |
| 30 | There was no objective standard for him to measure himself by — there never is in this kind of case , either you have the confidence in yourself , or you don't-all he could do was see himself reflected in her eyes , and it was not a pleasing portrait . |