Example sentences of "[that] [modal v] have been a [noun] " in BNC.

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No	Sentence
1	Officials think now that may have been a mistake .
2	A tiny girl , but her eyes were bright and large and caring , full of the compassion that should have been a stranger in the Pot'ma railway yards .
3	Of course we did n't have servants , but my first bedroom was a little L-shaped room that must have been a maid 's room .
4	A sound , the barest whisper of something that might have been a moan , rose in her throat .
5	Zervos had a huge dense beard that might have been a cutting from the grotto 's undergrowth .
6	Erm you had friends everywh , in all sorts of places , you did n't dally , shall we say , in some of them that might have been a bit smelly .
7	She stared , and said something that might have been a question or a rejection .
8	The maid fled to her room but could still hear Mrs Putt 's shrill voice until there was a brief , muffled scream , followed by a whole series of sounds that might have been a fight .
9	He made a noise that might have been a giggle in happier circumstances ‘ … made me ill .
10	Len did n't answer , then a sound that could have been a sigh or which might have been a sob escaped his lips , a sound full of despair .
11	He made a final , half-hearted attempt at a smile that could have been a yawn .
12	A wooden kitchen table with some crocks on it , a car battery split long ago , three chairs and a broken clothes horse , a pile of something in a corner that could have been a tramp 's bed , or , indeed , a long-dead tramp .
13	The same happened to Foxley Wood ( Hampshire ) and Tillingham Hall ( Essex ) , new towns that would have been a dream come true for some people , but which were deemed unjustifiable and unnecessary by the Government inspector of planning appeals .
14	The judge was in no doubt that if the defendant had sold the contents of his report to a newspaper that would have been a breach of confidence .

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