Example sentences of "[prep] if they [modal v] [vb infin] " in BNC.
Next page| No | Sentence |
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| 1 | It was n't a matter of if they would return ; it was merely a question of when . |
| 2 | On the way to the toilet , flashy black guys , who keep their hands permanently on their balls as if they might drop off onto the floor , stand directly in my way to get noticed . |
| 3 | The Blues looked as if they might struggle to punch a hole in a paper bag , let alone score . |
| 4 | His knees were wobbling as if they might collapse under the strain of holding his body upright . |
| 5 | They stayed close to the Oaks , as if they considered it their duty , and they looked as if they might find life a serious business . |
| 6 | He beamed at them again and Caspar was beginning to relax , because it seemed as if they might escape after all and Fenella was remembering about magic being very nearly everyday here , when Pumlumon said , ‘ Of course , that 's so long as I can remember the words . ’ |
| 7 | But it looked at one stage as if they might lose their first choice and have to stay in Reigate for another summer when negotiations for the purchase coincided with their long-planned holiday of a lifetime — watching last month 's world cup cricket in Australia . |
| 8 | Cheltenham had lost their last five games and despite creating some excellent chances , looked as if they might lose their sixth . |
| 9 | The nervous tension of dodging and ducking about a sky crowded with equally dodging and ducking planes , some firing , some looking as if they might fire at any instant , some sheering wildly away to avoid a collision ; and all the time trying to grab a quick shot at a mere point of light : all this brought back the strain of combat , when you were pressed on by the excitement of chasing the enemy , pulled back by the horror of shooting a friend , and periodically shaken with fright by the thought that at any second you might be cut in two . |
| 10 | As for the farm butter , it is being borne away by the purchasers in the great baskets which look as if they might have been used by the Scarlet Pimpernel to smuggle refugee aristos out of Paris . |
| 11 | Here was her chance to find out exactly what the police were up to — it sounded as if they might have a new lead . |
| 12 | Sounds as if they might have . |
| 13 | But as one commentator has remarked , ‘ the trouble is some of these directives look as if they may take until the 21st century to be adopted let alone implemented ’ . |
| 14 | The armholes looked too short , the sleeves did n't look as if they would fit and the bust size was nowhere near the size that was required . |
| 15 | as if they would move in the same circles . |
| 16 | Aching in bones as if they would break |
| 17 | Aching in bones as if they would break is the main feature of this remedy that accompanies all of its complaints . |
| 18 | Her breakdown can not be better described than in her own words : ‘ She saw , as she thought , devils opening their mouths all inflamed with burning waves of fire , as if they would have swallowed her in , sometimes ramping at her , sometimes threatening her … night and day , during the aforesaid time ’ . |
| 19 | Though he noticed there were some who spoke to the superintendent and were completely ignored , while others looked as if they would have preferred to creep past unknown . |
| 20 | ’ It 's not as if they would add up to a great sum . ’ |
| 21 | His bony legs , which usually felt as if they would collapse beneath him , felt firmer , stronger . |
| 22 | Swelling — inflamed parts swell rapidly , are very sensitive to touch with the sensation as if they would burst , with pressing , stinging , burning pains . |
| 23 | Passing hot-dog stands and car parks and stalls selling Formula One memorabilia , she sprinted around the outside of the circuit until , when her lungs felt as if they would burst , she finally reached double gates in the high chain-link perimeter fence which enclosed the pits . |
| 24 | She slouched from parent to parent , latching on to those who looked as if they would listen to her woes — not realizing , perhaps , that this was hardly the purpose of Parents ' Evening . |
| 25 | ‘ We 've got this Unesco thing coming on — oh , here are the Fairfaxes , ’ he declared , as the door opened to admit a tall middle-aged man and an even taller woman , obviously husband and wife , who had grown to look like each other in a rather unfortunate way , their small heads and long stringy bodies seeming as if they must have combined the worst features of each . |
| 26 | They work as if they must get rich by the evening and die the next day . |
| 27 | Sanchez took a step nearer to Culley as if they should lower their voices . |
| 28 | He seemed fascinated by his hands ; he was flexing the fingers rhythmically and gazing at them as if they could tell him something important about himself . |
| 29 | A tiny minority of landowners lived in enormous wealth and comfort , exacting feudal dues and enforced labour from farmers who had in effect become their tied peasants : these landowners still engaged in the grain trade as their families had done for generations , and as if they could think of nothing else to do . |
| 30 | LEE WEARS a shiny nylon jacket that 's on loan from the Sir Alf Ramsey estate , and cheesy sports pants that look as if they could walk home on their own . |