Example sentences of "[pron] [verb] [adv] been able " in BNC.
Next page| No | Sentence |
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| 1 | Those leaders have tried to keep their empires isolated from the Darwinian laws of survival , despite the fact that none of the ‘ gods ’ as presented by them has ever been able to set aside the inexorable operation of those laws . |
| 2 | No-one has ever been able to explain precisely why the tropical forests and coral reefs contain so many species , but the two habitats do have several obvious features in common . |
| 3 | After I 'd kissed her goodbye I felt pretty happy because not only had I at last had an extremely enjoyable sexual experience , but I 'd also been able to give enjoyment . |
| 4 | It was Irene , for instance , who pointed out something I 'd never been able to put my finger on : that Tod ca n't talk and smile at the same time . |
| 5 | After the yard was the house that was built for , and due , so much more life than I 'd ever been able to give it . |
| 6 | Thanks to Karen 's attack I had n't been able to pee , and when my organ switched from reproductive to urinary mode I realized that my bladder was bursting . |
| 7 | More likely the net was carried away because the ground was bone dry and hard and I had n't been able to push the stakes deep enough into the soil . |
| 8 | I had n't been able to do that for so long . ’ |
| 9 | I could say some of the things I had n't been able to say when I left him , because I had n't shared his feelings then . |
| 10 | Still , it was the hangover of that piece of moral cowardice at Lochgair station , along with everything else , that led to me feeling so profoundly awful with myself that evening ( after the train finally did get into Queen Street and I walked back , soaked and somehow no longer hungry , in the rain to the empty flat in Grant Street ) , that mum had to call me there , because I had n't been able to bring myself to phone her and dad … and I still managed to feign sleep and a little shame and a smattering of sorrow and reassure her as best I could that really I was all right , yes of course , not to worry , I was fine , thanks for calling … and so of course after that felt even worse . |
| 11 | Well , in fact I did n't know , not for certain , but I could n't see any signs at all of brassière straps or elastic waistbands which I had n't been able to help noticing on all other women . |
| 12 | I was getting hungry and frustrated because I had n't been able to enjoy any of it . |
| 13 | I even carried out a double-bluff of appearing slightly guilty for the wrong reasons , so that adults told me I should n't blame myself because I had n't been able to warn Paul in time . |
| 14 | But I can assure you that I would n't have lasted five minutes in what , by any standards , is a very tricky and difficult market if I had n't been able to cope with the work . |
| 15 | Michelangelo , da Vinci , Bellini , Caravaggio , Bernini — half the world 's art treasures in one country , and I had n't been able to travel beyond the walls of the Victoria and Albert . |
| 16 | I was allowed to record each group and I found the transcribing of the tapes less arduous as I had also been able to make notes . |
| 17 | What , really , has it done for Daisy — if I had not been able to help materially ? |
| 18 | This was a very great help to me , because I was able to learn the meaning of many words that I had not been able to understand before . |
| 19 | The nightmares stopped instantly after this explanation , and I was able to give lectures , stand up for myself and speak in public — all of which I had never been able to do before . ’ |
| 20 | I had never been able to understand them then , but I sympathized with them now . |
| 21 | I had never been able to do that , not with such unselfconscious pleasure , perhaps because deep down I had resented his existence which was preventing me doing all the marvellous things I had intended to do in the world . |
| 22 | I had never been able to persuade her to accept any money for her kindness and tried to reciprocate by doing any small repairs she needed to her flat , and by supplying occasional tickets for the theatre , for the tennis at Wimbledon , and for the races at Epsom . |
| 23 | Even when she was well , I had never been able to relax because I never knew from one day to the next how I was going to find her . |
| 24 | ‘ And you , ’ I asked , hungry to question a culture I had only been able to observe , ‘ what do you consider yourself to be ? ’ |
| 25 | ‘ These fifteenth-century chests with their incised shell pattern are peculiar to Møn — I 've not been able to discover any on the other islands . |
| 26 | ‘ I was talking to an old man about death and he said , ‘ You know I 've not been able to talk to my wife . |
| 27 | Use analysis of the situation you are in as your key tactic : ‘ I 've not been able to make my point . |
| 28 | I 've not been able to ask Fiona why , since I know she is personally very involved and helped draw up the UK version of ‘ Caring For The Earth ’ with Adrian Phillips . |
| 29 | This is purported to walk the grave yard at certain times of the year , but firm evidence of this I 've not been able to find ; you always hear that someone else has seen it but never first hand . |
| 30 | We used to , we , I used to go when my husband was alive we used to go to erm Devon cos I had a brother living in Devon we used to go there , but er unfortunately I lost him when he was only fifty with a coronary , and so erm , in , cos and after that I lost my husband you see so cos we I 've never been away like that before , not , not since , years ago that was , he 's been gone twenty one years this Christmas sixteenth might be so , I 've not been able to so I , I , I go with the erm , I went with the Red Cross this year the year before last I went erm er , Char Charlie took me away we went to er a chalet we stayed at and er a friend of mine we went there for a week had a week there , that poured of rain every day , this year it poured of rain every day |