Example sentences of "could [vb infin] only " in BNC.
Next page| No | Sentence |
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| 1 | In the South Midlands and a few other areas where farm labourers could earn only a pittance crafts that employed mothers and daughters provided welcome extra income . |
| 2 | She was only twenty-eight , but , having been deserted by her husband and left with children of one and two years old , she could earn only 2s 6d ( 12½p ) a week by taking in washing . |
| 3 | In 1811 most mule spinners could earn only half of their peak earnings ; even so this was in most cases more than the earnings of fully employed weavers . |
| 4 | He was almost illiterate and could make only one speech , which he had painstakingly learnt by heart . |
| 5 | If you could make only one comparison — |
| 6 | Doubts could arise only about matters of , as it were , taste , such as manners and morals , where simple quantitative accumulation provided no guidance There could be no question that men in 1860 knew more than ever before , but whether they were ‘ better ’ could not be demonstrated in the same way . |
| 7 | I think that he will agree that ’ Our Farming Future ’ could cover only the factors over which we have real control . |
| 8 | He confirmed that the Scottish Office money could cover only cash flow difficulties from the oil funds — not the producers . |
| 9 | Twelve months later they could cover only 18 per cent . |
| 10 | Then he kissed me , and for a moment I remembered a play we were in together , when we 'd done the same sort of kiss , starting with his hand under my chin and just our lips lightly together , and then developing into a full clinch ; but by the time we were deeply embraced I had forgotten the play and could think only that this was like coming home . |
| 11 | I could think only that we must get , at once , the very best of help . |
| 12 | Lily could think only of him paying for little girls . |
| 13 | She could think only that she would rather be in Paris . |
| 14 | But as she sipped the bitters , as they dried her mouth , she could think only : these last days , this oasis of friendship , it is all over . |
| 15 | She could think only : It should be my mother sitting up there , with my brother beside her . |
| 16 | His curiosity was short-lived , for he could think only of Beth . |
| 17 | How ironic that while she dreamed of becoming pregnant and bearing a child , her friend could think only of getting rid of hers . |
| 18 | I could think only of how badly I wanted to make love to you again , with the sunshine on your beautiful face . ’ |
| 19 | The statements could relate to past facts ( i. e. they could mean that those services were provided last season ) or they could relate only to the future ( i.e. that they will be provided next season ) . |
| 20 | The Court restricted its judgment to the Murrays , and also ruled that the concept of " native title " could exist only where such rights had not been extinguished by the government . |
| 21 | Last year , lack of cash meant that Russia could buy only 80,000 tonnes . |
| 22 | However , that leaves the galleries open to pressure , when they come to the Minister and make points such as that which I made at the beginning of my speech — saying , for instance , that last year the Tate gallery could buy only one work of art . |
| 23 | On Arthur Young 's calculation higher wages did not restore living standards to the levels of the 1780s , for weekly earnings then would have bought fourteen loaves in Winchester , whereas in 1815 they could buy only nine . |
| 24 | One of the moments which remained most strongly in her memory took place in the town 's most learned book shop , a charming building that dated , almost alone in the town , from a pre-industrial epoch ; it was tall , and narrow , and its windows Were so small that it could display only ten books at a time , and those ten were changed but once a month . |
| 25 | Where the three DUP candidates in his area of Belfast could win only 1.25 quotas , Seawright took 1.7 quotas in first preference votes . |
| 26 | It was a game they could win only by losing ; every possibility checked and found empty was a point gained , and with every one discarded their spirits rose towards optimism . |
| 27 | The loop could act only as a monitor to be interrogated in the case of breakdown of comprehension . |
| 28 | Following on from the second half of their previous pool game — against Nadroga — Scotland enjoyed five minutes of possession against Samoa yet could manufacture only one clear-cut chance . |
| 29 | Scottish villages were so frequently attacked and burned , and were so lacking in adequate fortified protection , that farmers and small gentry could survive only by building stone tower houses with barmkins , or walled enclosures . |
| 30 | One could survive only by silence and a strict refusal of complicity . |