Example sentences of "they [modal v] be said [to-vb] " in BNC.
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| 1 | Because palimpsest histories do precisely that , mingling realism with the supernatural and history with spiritual and philosophical reinterpretation , they could be said to float half-way between the sacred books of our various heritages , which survive on the strength of the faiths they have created , … and the endless exegesis and commentaries these sacred books create . |
| 2 | Insofar as younger ministers believed that a Christian state should improve housing , lay drains or provide pensions , they could be said to have advocated a form of social gospel . |
| 3 | Put together , they could be said to constitute more than the ‘ perhaps one or two opportunities ’ the discussion set out to find , but an outline strategy for reclaiming a grossly under-used source of much-needed brain-power in the boardroom : a strategy that now calls for sharpening and refining . |
| 4 | Since documents usually have an overall structure , objective and topic , they can be said to represent a particular domain ( e.g. banking , insurance , etc . ) . |
| 5 | Archives and museums keep objects that hold information and they store information about the entities ( i.e. objects ) they hold , but whether they can be said to hold knowledge in the same way libraries do is debatable . |
| 6 | In their traditional exhibitionist role women are simultaneously looked at and displayed , with their appearance coded for strong visual and erotic impact so that they can be said to connote to-be-looked-at-ness . |
| 7 | On the basis of this identity of reference , they can be said to convey the SAME MESSAGE . |
| 8 | Proprietary life assurance companies are no different in this respect but it is very difficult to ascertain the amounts of profit arising from individual contracts and the exact period of time over which they can be said to have been earned . |
| 9 | Since the notional content of adjectives , on the other hand , does not define the nature of their support but only a quality thereof they can be said to have external incidence . |
| 10 | All is not dark in these accounts , and indeed they can be said to gleam with a quality of reflected light . |
| 11 | They can be said to determine and to indetermine , both to record , and to distort and desert , the facts of his life . |