Example sentences of "could [not/n't] [verb] [been] long " in BNC.
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1 | They watched a woman , who could not have been long in this country , testing a mango for ripeness : she felt it all over with her thumb , not looking at it , concentrated , unsmiling , until the stall holder , ever-vigilant , caught sight of her . |
2 | Yet he could not have been long in the water . |
3 | ‘ We do n't know how long he 's been dead , ’ murmured the Marshal , ‘ though it could n't have been long , he was n't … |
4 | Maybe it lasted half an hour , that sleep , it could n't have been longer because there was still no daylight when I was woken , although he did n't mean to wake me . |
5 | 30 " He was dead when he went in , and as he 'd been dead only for about six to seven hours , it could n't have been longer than that . |