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Example sentences of "could have [verb] [prep] a [noun] " in BNC.

No	Sentence
1	I , I and you could 've done with a queen .
2	but erm I think she could 've done with a bit of company .
3	Apart from that they could 've sat on a wall and done exactly the same thing , she was in the street .
4	Alternatively the committee could have served as a scapegoat if Pomgol activities had failed completely .
5	The butcher — a distinguished-looking man who could have served as a model for Mr Micawber and had , also , his turn of phrase .
6	‘ Meeting Venus ’ looks like it could have done with a bit of old fashioned fascism itself .
7	I could have done with a bit of support from you once in a while .
8	I could have done with a bit of weeping and gnashing of the old teeth .
9	Ironically she rarely used much make-up herself , but right now she could have done with a cover-up stick to hide the dark shadows beneath her eyes and some blusher to conceal at least a little of her pallor .
10	Her red suit was smart , but too bright a colour for her pale English pink and white skin , her brown hair could have done with a wash and her nails were ragged and bitten .
11	My time would only be impressive if clocked by sundial but I was pleased with it , though I could have done with a couple of gym sessions to get in shape .
12	‘ You could have done with a couple of stitches here .
13	He could have done with a saw .
14	How they could have done with a win this afternoon .
15	‘ I could have done with a hand . ’
16	People say having a baby ruins your life , and talk about what you could have done in a job and that .
17	On the other hand , it is extremely useful to have universities , polys and colleges compared on an equal basis , particularly as in these days of cutbacks many , who in earlier years could have relied on a university place , may have to hedge their bets by applying to polys too .
18	The magistrate said the words were neither abusive or insulting but could have led to a breach of the peace .
19	A pity , say analysts , that it did not come off : America 's biggest-ever bank merger could have led to a barrelful of such deals — and not before time .
20	But the same evidence could have led to a theory celebrating the system which , by laying down norms , establishing disciplines and , most important of all , providing scripts that , while not always particularly imaginative , were at least a sound basis to work from , enabled these directors to realize their individual vision .
21	‘ And they could have arranged for a taxi . ’
22	Some of the patrol who had been in the Feelgood could have radioed in a report before things started blowing up , or maybe even got away .
23	Insp Rodgers said : ‘ It seems this could have stemmed from a dispute over parking . ’
24	Here were many war-time refugees and exiles from every country in europe , with accents you could have cut with a cheese wire .
25	In both these cases the alleged negligence was that of the medical staff at a hospital , but , as the decided cases show , it could have arisen from a range of other contexts , for instance from negligent driving of a motor vehicle or negligence on the part of a railway company or tramway company in respect of a train or tram in which the mother of the child was travelling as a passenger while pregnant .
26	‘ It was my own choice to stay there , when I could have gone to a hotel . ’
27	Perhaps you 'd have let me know we could have gone for a beer .
28	The village of St Anton could have fallen off a picture post card : it 's that pretty !
29	Er , that could have fallen off a car cos it was a big piece and there was n't anywhe anywhere else .
30	Indeed , Vauxcelles , in a review of the Salon des Indépendants of 1907 , notes with satisfaction that ‘ The influence of Cézanne is on the wane ’ , and adds , ‘ certain earlier Salons , in particular those of 1904 and 1905 , could have borne as a banner … ‘ homage to Cézanne ’ ' .