Example sentences of "[modal v] [not/n't] have [vb pp] [prep] a " in BNC.
Next page| No | Sentence |
|---|---|
| 1 | So maybe the lack of interest in Latin American art this week should not have come as a shock . |
| 2 | Yet his father 's death should not have come as a surprise . |
| 3 | ‘ With hindsight , perhaps we should n't have gone into a peripheral business , ’ he concedes . |
| 4 | This might not have led to a massive reduction that saw the rabbits left at the lowest desirable number , but it was the best that could be done under the circumstances . |
| 5 | They told the inquiry that if a particularly strong FM transmission was made very near the radio it might be possible for it to pick up the sub-harmonic at around 14 MHz but that such a signal could not have emanated from a low-powered , hand-held type of two-way radio . |
| 6 | It is idle to speculate on the source of leaks — that I did learn in my years in Government — but what was certain was that the Telegraph story could not have appeared at a worse time . |
| 7 | He could not have asked for a clearer-case of his anti-Christian enemy ‘ trampling on the moral law ’ than in Hungary . |
| 8 | I could not have asked for a better introduction to the summer Alps ’ . |
| 9 | If the cast had needed a demonstration of Michael Banks 's genuine warmth , they could not have asked for a better one than the way he dealt with Alex Household . |
| 10 | The Prince could not have hoped for a better platform . |
| 11 | She could not have guessed how much she would enjoy herself with a stranger , how completely this woman was in sympathy with her , could not have hoped for a new friend to come out , at this stage in her life , and give her so much pleasure . |
| 12 | Spain would have been cowed without Wellington 's field force : Wellington could not have operated with a small army without the diversionary effects of Spanish resistance . |
| 13 | According to Mr Dieter Brauninger , an economist at Deutsche Bank in Frankfurt , the newcomers could not have arrived at a better time : a period of dynamic growth , when gaps created by the fall in the birth rate in the past two decades need to be filled . |
| 14 | As we saw earlier , the technology of the time certainly could not have coped with a live street recording , so one wonders how the company got away with that . |
| 15 | Such employment leaps in particular industries could not have occurred in a tight labour market with slow labour-force growth . |
| 16 | In Peking 's eyes , the Nobel Peace Prize could not have come at a worse time . |
| 17 | The invitation could not have come at a better time . |
| 18 | The timing of the announcement could not have come at a more politically sensitive time . |
| 19 | For Sinton , who made his England debut in Poznan in the crucial final qualifier against Poland last November and was a member of the England B side that defeated France B at Loftus Road in February , that run could not have come at a better time . |
| 20 | This could not have come at a worse time , with the prospect in view of becoming an ‘ officer 's lady ’ . |
| 21 | She could not have come at a worse time ; a few hours after she arrived , she was a helpless burning hulk , with most of her passengers and crew dead . |
| 22 | And the announcement of the engagement could not have come at a better time for the battle-weary Royal Family . |
| 23 | It could not have come at a worse time for the Royal Family , almost on the eve of the wedding of Princess Anne to Commander Tim Laurence . |
| 24 | His first injury in English football could not have come at a worst time . |
| 25 | ‘ Then my news could not have come at a better time ! ’ |
| 26 | ‘ In many ways , it could not have come at a worse time because the selectors are obviously considering alternatives after the defeat at Old Trafford and I would like to think I would be one of them . ’ |
| 27 | ‘ God witness , ’ said Llewelyn , drumming his long fingers on the arms of his chair in a hard-driven rhythm that was always a key to the stresses of his mind , ‘ it could not have come at a worse time . |
| 28 | Larkins , who made 103 before retiring to give his team-mates a bat , could not have wished for a better comeback , and with Robin Smith making a stylish 70 , England made 263 for four from 50 overs . |
| 29 | For a teaching museum we could n't have hoped for a better gift . |
| 30 | ‘ We could n't have hoped for a better first few weeks of the tour . |