Example sentences of "could [verb] be " in BNC.
Next page| No | Sentence |
|---|---|
| 1 | In 1979 , the maximum a Chief Inspector could earn was 8 000 pounds . |
| 2 | After many years spent developing a communication method based on this halcyon midday scene in Manhattan , however , the best plan that the not-so-clever beings could devise was an idea for creating large circular patterns in fields of corn . |
| 3 | Claims that up to 30,000 jobs could disappear were rejected by a Post Office spokesman . |
| 4 | The proportion of the bottom two-thirds of pupils who get the following item correct is considerably reduced compared with the number who correctly answer " How many halves are there in 2½ ? " ( see p.33 ) Reading a scale with divisions which do not represent one unit again proves difficult as the next item illustrates : The next question which fewer than 50 per cent of the middle third could answer was the last in this group of three items . |
| 5 | The extra speed and stride that the longer hind legs could attain was hampered by the slow speed of the shorter front ones . |
| 6 | Most of the generalisations one could make are probably true for a lot of other languages as well . |
| 7 | The truckers ' strike during July and August 1973 was also largely motivated by controls — the shortages of spare parts for their trucks , official discrimination against them in favour of state-run firms , and the fact that the charges which they could make were fixed by the government but not adjusted to take into account the rapid rate of inflation . |
| 8 | The most useful contribution he could make was to turn up on the right day in the right uniform , cut ribbons , and make cosy speeches . |
| 9 | Apparently the only contribution Fiver could make was this beetle-spirited vapouring . |
| 10 | The number of sales the trader could make was limited to the number of cars he could get . |
| 11 | A second , but also rare , situation in which an extended household could arise was when an elderly person was able to obtain the support of either an adult child or grandchild to continue living in his or her own home . |
| 12 | ‘ You had them all the time — you trailed me round — you bloody filthy lying bastard — you poked my head into every shit-bin in Bristol — you led me up hill and down dale till my feet were dropping off — you made me steal some people 's boat — I could 've been got by the police — I might be festering in jail now — handcuffed — criminal — you do n't care , you 're criminal anyway — I would n't be surprised if you 'd murdered half a dozen innocent people and cut them up and kept their pieces stashed away in the hole where you 've been hiding my bag and my things and my money and my dreams … ’ |
| 13 | ‘ Nahh , could 've been anybody ? |
| 14 | Personally , I think she could 've been a little cleverer , lyrically . |
| 15 | I suppose I could 've been too cool ! ’ |
| 16 | ‘ Probably because , in a crossfire , some of the family could 've been killed . ’ |
| 17 | Re-released on its own it could 've been a winner , but a dodgy arcade section that feeds in dud results makes the game unplayable — what 's the point in managing a team that gets a goalless draw every week , whatever you do ? |
| 18 | On several occasions the ‘ correct ’ response was not the obvious one , so perhaps a wider variety of inputs could 've been catered for . |
| 19 | In particular Donal Lunny 's assured production allows for moments of rain-washed clarity in what could 've been a groggy hotchpotch . |
| 20 | It 's not very nice when you 're driving the vehicle and er I know you 're all experienced drivers and then you get somebody sitting there alongside you starting to look at you do , and I I you could 've been driving all your life but you still feel a bit edgy and a bit tense . |
| 21 | See how happy we could 've been . |
| 22 | ‘ It could 've been a life , ’ I said . |
| 23 | Police think it could 've been just a dirty night out . |
| 24 | There could 've been something there , someone I 'd met in the past that might open another door . ’ |
| 25 | It could 've been any doctor , and it might not 've been a stethoscope . |
| 26 | ‘ Could 've been , but nothing to suggest that it was : her prints were all over the car and nobody else 's . ’ |
| 27 | Oh they , now they could 've been . |
| 28 | Could 've been something falling over onstage , or a light-bulb blowing … but something inside me knew it was serious . |
| 29 | Oh it could 've been . |
| 30 | It has to be checked for any messages that could 've been left . ’ |