Example sentences of "[modal v] [verb] [be] an [adj] [noun] " in BNC.
Next page| No | Sentence |
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| 1 | The superimposition of massive conventional forces on what should have been an atomic strategy , made no sense to Churchill , who appreciated that financial pressures would reduce rather than increase the number of divisions that Britain could contribute to Western European defence . |
| 2 | The cost of the entire operation was competitive with glass bottles and , moreover , the package and contents could be dropped without damage or loss and therefore should have been an attractive proposition to supermarkets and bottling plants alike . |
| 3 | The European Court held the refusal was a breach of his right to a private and family life , since the file was the major record of his childhood , and there should have been an independent body which could override an improper refusal of consent . |
| 4 | On October 15 , 1956 St Mawgan witnessed a rare assembly of brass with invited notables including Bomber Harris for what must have been an emotional farewell . |
| 5 | This must have been an internal wall at one point . |
| 6 | He remained there for what must have been an anxious day and a night while the elephant returned to and from a nearby stream with trunkfuls of water with which it was finally able to loosen the roots of the tree , push it over , then trample its victim just as his belated rescue-party arrived on the scene . |
| 7 | County Hall , just across the Thames from Parliament itself , must have been an irritating sight , with its banner proclaiming the total of London 's unemployed . |
| 8 | If I found there was no coffee in the house I 'd shout and swear at her and I must have been an absolute pain to live with . |
| 9 | ‘ Oh , yes , please ! ’ returned Sally-Anne , and then caught her breath again , when he turned his head , presenting her with his beautiful , undamaged profile — he must have been an absolute stunner before he was disfigured . |
| 10 | Thus , it is also common ground that the complainant must have been an existing borrower at the time of the grant or refusal in question . |
| 11 | It must have been an amazing sight . ’ |
| 12 | ‘ Oh , Robyn , this must have been an awful shock — and you were with Luke at the time ? |
| 13 | That must have been an awful lot of hens then . |
| 14 | Then again , he talked with her because he longed to satisfy to meet her needs , as a human being she 'd aspiration , she 'd hope , she 'd desires and as she looked back on her life , some of them may have been fulfilled , some of her plans may have been realized , but there must have been an awful emptiness , and awful hollowness about so much . |
| 15 | Well it must have been an awful job to keep all these white ? |
| 16 | ‘ It must have been an awful time for you . ’ |
| 17 | Some time in the past there must have been an almighty explosion . |
| 18 | You know he was that tramp must have been an honest man because father said there was quite a little of sovereigns in that , and so I suppose it had been given to the parish and had seen that the man was properly buried , and then they discovered that he was an Aberdonian . |
| 19 | ‘ She must have been an extraordinary woman , ’ said Julia , trying to imagine living her life in a wheelchair and knowing that her attractive husband was falling in love with someone else . |
| 20 | ‘ It must have been an extraordinary picture , ’ she said . |
| 21 | It must have been an automatic reaction because he was looking down at the motionless figure and shouting , ‘ Harriet ! ’ |
| 22 | This visit to Glastonbury must have been an impressive occasion , but there was probably more to it than simply pomp and piety . |
| 23 | Deposited on the runway , horribly close to the fast lane , we must have been an unusual sight for incoming international passengers , gazing at a three-horse traffic island . |
| 24 | There must have been an interesting contrast in scale between palace and church . |
| 25 | She must have been an exceptional item , because Rich can hardly get the words out for trembling woooh noises and peculiar scatological asides . |
| 26 | ‘ Livesey must have been an amiable sort of man … |
| 27 | In the process of losing his undisputed title to Bowe , on what one must say was an overwhelming points decision , Holyfield defined the qualities of a true champion . |
| 28 | Once only was I able to talk to Hayward de vive voix , and that was at the Institute of Contemporary Arts , when I referred again to the housekeeper problem ; but in the end , for reasons that I do not know , our Greek candidate , who might have been an admirable choice , was not summoned for interview . |
| 29 | There might have been an economic argument for Britain to stay out , but the decision was quite clearly taken on political grounds . |
| 30 | In the ceiling there was visible what might have been an original oak cross-beam , but it had been unceremoniously distempered with the rest . |