Example sentences of "could [adv] [verb] to be " in BNC.
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| 1 | Considering they had also beaten New South Wales convincingly they could justifiably claim to be the top provincial side around . |
| 2 | At least this time he could justifiably claim to be doing so in a higher cause than that of his own political survival . |
| 3 | There she found herself ensconced in a huge grey suede and chrome armchair , clutching a hefty measure of Scotch , and staring blankly around at what she could only assume to be the ‘ minimalist ’ style of interior decoration . |
| 4 | Jesus was describing a fulfilled life which could only grow to be better and better . |
| 5 | His line was that he 'd lost contact with Malcolm because he could only stand to be with him for so long at a stretch . |
| 6 | But I could only attain to be thrilled and enchanted , as by the sound of a strain of music dying away . |
| 7 | He was an ex-barrister , a very live wire , who could justly claim to be the founder of the present vastly expanded business . |
| 8 | The child 's own feelings were split between mortification at a christening that doomed him to live out for good a pun that he could already see to be gruesome and pride that his father had cared for him enough to embed him into his act by the very roots of his name . |
| 9 | Baldersdale was largely unaffected by contact with outside influences — to travel further than Barnard Castle , a prim and pretty little market town which could scarcely claim to be cosmopolitan , was virtually unheard of and such visitors as there were never stayed long enough to impart revolutionary new ways and ideas . |
| 10 | Because they could not stand to be in the company of his wife , they rarely saw him . |
| 11 | From this position he could not expect to be prominent going to the first bend , the clubhouse turn , and Shoemaker held him back in about eighth place , some four horses out from the rails , as the runners came past the stands . |
| 12 | Whereas it would have been possible to ask Harriet Finlay Johnson , ‘ What are you teaching this lesson ? ’ and the answer could easily be something like , ‘ The Spanish Armada ’ , one could not expect to be given an equivalent answer from Peter Slade , Brian Way or the Speech and Drama teachers . |
| 13 | But other shocks to the system followed in quick succession : a new language and culture ; the insensitivity , not always unintentional , of foster parents , teachers and hostel administrators ; the cruelty of other children ( and some adults ) who equated all things German with Nazism ; the coming-to-terms with the long-term or permanent loss of family and friends who had been left behind , and the awareness that refugees could not expect to be treated other than as second-class citizens — to mention only the common causes of illness and depression . |
| 14 | Unfortunately insufficient members turned up to achieve a quorum , but ex-chairman , Robin Brookes , took the opportunity to state that the guild could not continue to be run on a rotation of volunteers . |
| 15 | Edward declared he could not continue to be king without the women he loved . |
| 16 | He genuinely had little concern with making money for its own sake , but he could not fail to be infected by Marjorie 's martyred attitude to their shortage of cash , and he resented being reminded of it by Kegan 's sleekness . |
| 17 | As you see , it was a rather exalted collaboration , and the work which was to ensue could not fail to be remarkably beautiful . |
| 18 | Alum pot itself could not fail to be noticed by the first settlers in the district , its yawning gulf constituting an obvious danger to both man and beast ; in the course of time , a wall was built around it and trees planted to indicate its position . |
| 19 | ‘ The style of writing is lively and straightforward , and the reader could not fail to be stimulated by the ideas presented . ’ |
| 20 | The technical officer could not fail to be conscious of the lethal potential of an electrical discharge from the platform . |
| 21 | As soon as it had been fired from the Simonova the pod would have started to broadcast a signal and , since the crew of the survey ship could not fail to be aware that a pod had been discharged , and that it was occupied , he supposed that his descent had been tracked and that someone at least knew where he was to be found . |
| 22 | ‘ Whereas the police , no doubt , would continue to draft in innumerable squads of men to trample the landscape and inspect the ground , and exude such an aura of busyness and continuous reorganisation that even the most cynical observer could not fail to be impressed . ’ |
| 23 | Whether racing or cruising , the most critical crew could not fail to be anything other than delighted with this yacht 's performance . |
| 24 | Perhaps she never realized quite how deep-seated was this need , but shop , as well as factory staff , could not fail to be impressed at the way both she and Bernard always knew their names , asked with interest about their home life and would always try and help if there was a problem by sending taxis , flowers , hot meals or whatever the crisis demanded . |
| 25 | It could not fail to be excellent in your hands , and quite put Mr Thackeray in the shade . |
| 26 | The young man , whose name was Merbury , was eager and inexperienced , and took it for granted , as an honest man well might , that his story of complete and shattering victory , of the capture of so many of the active nobility of Scotland , and of a bright lustre added to the name of Percy and of England could not fail to be pleasing to his sovereign . |
| 27 | The Republic was associated with virtue and austerity , so that society could not hope to be improved until the regime responsible for this fearful debauching of the public mind was overthrown . |
| 28 | If they both were of the same logical type , then we could not hope to be able to clarify the distinction between numerical and species identity and the possibility of order in space or time . |
| 29 | She could hear the beating of his heart and she closed her eyes , thankful for his presence for she could not bear to be alone , not now , not yet . |
| 30 | He could not bear to be away from Maura today . |