Example sentences of "[noun] [vb mod] have [been] a [adj] " in BNC.
Next page| No | Sentence |
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| 1 | Bram Stoker may have been a genial enough fellow externally , but he knew how to find a place which would match the chill in the soul of his novel . |
| 2 | John Donne may have been a great frequenter of plays , but the catalogue of his books he produced in the early seventeenth century reveals no dramatist among the many contemporary English writers he assembled . |
| 3 | In the first place , although non-convertible bank notes may have been a new element , many — perhaps most — commercial transactions had long depended on paper bills rather than value-for-weight coin . |
| 4 | Brampton may have been a quiet man but I can not imagine him allowing anyone to hustle him upstairs in a house full of people , tie a noose round his neck and hang him . |
| 5 | Indeed , the fact that serious crime was often punished by confiscation of all the malefactor 's possessions must have been a sore temptation , and doubtless tended to prejudice kings towards verdicts of guilty . |
| 6 | The opportunity should have been a real opportunity of doing something effective . |
| 7 | Memphis , Tennessee must have been a lively place for the city ‘ s policemen in the early 1970s . |
| 8 | Harold Laski said Beatrice Webb should have been a medieval abbess , where her organising ability would have gained a spiritual dimension . |
| 9 | The result may have been a conflicting programme for pupils . |
| 10 | The general effect must have been a serious breaking-up of the great landed estates of Britain and their redistribution to absentee landlords , apart from those who preferred to move to Britain and take up residence . |
| 11 | Both dorsals must have been a good twelve inches clear of the water . |
| 12 | The murder must have been a severe shock to her and she would no doubt be deeply concerned over its effect on her husband ; she should have gone to see her yesterday , or at least telephoned . |
| 13 | William Symons must have been a wild one for in July of the same year he and Elizabeth Cole also of Halling , were both bound over for twenty shillings to appear at the next gaol delivery . |
| 14 | At that stage , Sunderland were good value for the lead and Mr Crosby must have been a contented man . |
| 15 | I suppose my eyes must have been a little red . |
| 16 | Head of the Department of the Environment 's science unit , Dick Derwent , who was in Teesside to see the progress , dismissed suggestions that Redcar 's Technical College might have been a better site . |
| 17 | The fortieth anniversary of the founding of East Germany on Saturday could have been a crowning moment in Erich Honecker 's career . |
| 18 | The result would have been a Californian bank second in size only to New York 's Citicorp . |
| 19 | Section 11(1) of the 1977 Act states : 11 – ( 1 ) In relation to a contract term , the requirement of reasonableness for the purposes of this Part of this Act , section 3 of the Misrepresentation Act 1967 and section 3 of the Misrepresentation Act ( Northern Ireland ) 1967 is that the term shall have been a fair and reasonable one to be included having regard to the circumstances which were , or ought reasonably to have been , known to or in the contemplation of the parties when the contract was made . |
| 20 | If it also represented self-confidence , Ken would have been a happy man . |
| 21 | The axe was originally a northern European weapon , and a typical design during the time of Barbarossa would have been a simple axe blade balanced by a spike on its reverse . |
| 22 | The Kent Spring Rally on 1 March might have been a total ‘ white-out ’ but for the admirable spirit of Kent members , who ploughed their way through a freshly deposited six-inch fall of snow to get there . |
| 23 | The decision to split the test may have been a political one . |
| 24 | Johnny Marr 's guitar work may have been a stable basis of listenability but it was Morrissey 's release from years of repressed loser attitudes which made The Smiths so special . |
| 25 | Barny may have been a natural for breeding , but he was useless at actually rearing his offspring . |
| 26 | Scotland may have been a remote country . |
| 27 | Gough Square was no backwater — Dr. Samuel Johnson had lived there a few years before — and a Gough Square lady must have been a good catch for an impecunious cheesemonger 's son . |
| 28 | Frantic attempts to have my bags recalled came to nought and by half-past-one the Taiwan Timberland lookalikes hit deep slush at Torino after a salivating glimpse of Monte Bianco and blanketed environs a few feet to the left wingtip. 10 December must have been a great day for skiing . |
| 29 | The post mortem now states quite categorically that he was not killed by any sort of missile ( the open window must have been a red herring ) . |
| 30 | The two tall oblongs of light from the first-floor drawing-room window should have been a welcoming promise of warmth and comfort . |