Example sentences of "can [adv] [be] a [adj] " in BNC.
Next page| No | Sentence |
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| 1 | Indeed , one of the most serious deficiencies in much classroom practice is the total lack of perception that writing can rarely be a once-off activity and , at the same time , a successful one . |
| 2 | Even if we accept the enforceability criterion for the existence of a law this can only be a necessary requirement of law if ‘ enforceability ’ is taken in a weak sense to mean that the rules in question are by and large adhered to , which need not , of course , be the result of threats . |
| 3 | The case against environmental lead is very strong , but an argument that contains such exaggeration and error can only be a weak one . |
| 4 | The committees can only be a temporary problem-solving device , bet the situations which create the problems are not temporary . |
| 5 | Conditions ( 1 ) and ( 2 ) alone clearly are not enough and there can only be a limited number of ways of thinking of conditions which give the same results as ( 3 ) and ( 4 ) . |
| 6 | It was for them that Paul Rotha spoke when he declared : ‘ The dialogue film , at its best , can only be a poor substitute for the stage . ’ |
| 7 | So when the police declare ( as they do ) that they are non-political institution , this can only be a partial truth . |
| 8 | Thus , due to the sheer complexity of spatial data and the operations available , this can only be a partial solution to the general problem of user interaction with a GIS ( Gould 1989 ) . |
| 9 | In Mary 's reign , between 1542 and 1574 , when the civil war which followed her deposition was finally over , there were twenty-five large-scale bonds involving groups of people , five of which were made in the first six years of the minority , as well as the thirty-six individual bonds made mainly for political purposes by Arran and Mary of Guise , and the two by Beaton which , in view of the comment by John Knox about the extensive number of his bonds , can only be a small proportion of the total . |
| 10 | The signal can only be a small molecule as the pores are so fine as to prevent passage of larger substances . |
| 11 | Population regulation , however , if it has any advantage at all , can only be a long-term one ; it must therefore be a consequence of individual decisions to emigrate , taken on the grounds that conditions will be better elsewhere , not on the grounds that the population level must be kept down in order for the local resources to be conserved . |
| 12 | However , these can only be a rough guide , and there is no replacement for experience of getting down among the crevices , ledges and pools . |
| 13 | It should be noted that any solution using neighbours can only be a short-term one . |
| 14 | ‘ Andy Gregory has been a brilliant scrum-half , but he 's coming to the end of his career and can only be a short-term buy for Doug Laughton at Leeds . |
| 15 | The unusual juxtaposition of these two words can only be a subconscious association in the author 's mind with the well-known carol , The Twelve Days of Christmas whose repetitive chorus ends , ‘ And a partridge in a pear-tree . ’ |
| 16 | Air transport moves quickly and this excellent book can only be a 1992 snapshot of a complex industry — however it is expensive . |
| 17 | But this can only be a palliative : a richer world will always grow richer in garbage too . |
| 18 | In contrast to Table 3.9 , Table 3.10 shows higher consultation rates by the lower socio-economic groups , but the Black Report points out that this can only be a tentative conclusion because of the problematic nature of the data on which the table is based . |
| 19 | He conceived of mind and matter as two substances , the relation between which can only be a causal one . |
| 20 | If the mind is so conceived that its relation to the world can only be a causal one , then to perceive something must be to be causally affected by it . |
| 21 | Non-sexism can only be a utopian or post-revolutionary state arrived at after the massive change in social relations and ideas demanded by an aggressive anti-sexist policy . |
| 22 | With Wittgenstein 's approach in mind , this can only be a dispiriting beginning . |
| 23 | On the positive side , perhaps a renewed interest in old school rap can only be a good thing . |
| 24 | I welcome the competition that Eric provides and that can only be a good thing for the club . |
| 25 | As the head of science put it : I think once it gets off the ground and we have got the library and the integrated studies and study skills teaching in a central resource area for the whole school , I think then , people are going to have to start seriously appraising the way they teach and I think that can only be a good thing . |
| 26 | The dramatic reduction in complaints and , of course , the high value placed on the quality improvement itself can only be a good thing for the business . ’ |
| 27 | It 's really good because management 's the same no matter where it is , but in the Health Service there are sometimes specific problems and this course is geared to people working in the Health Service and that can only be a good thing . |
| 28 | The subject is one which needs to be brought to the attention of the Environment Committee and is something which the Council 's Environment Officer , once appointed , may wish to tackle on a corporate basis although one which can only be a token gesture since neither the use of peat or the peat land resource in Lothian are major issues . |
| 29 | Balling claims that the overall contribution from desertification caused by human activity is around 0.013 degrees per year , but admits that it can only be a significant factor for about 15 per cent of the Earth 's surface . |
| 30 | To condemn the child in the first few days of its life , and engineer its death can only be a gross misjustice . |