Example sentences of "could not [be] [adj] that " in BNC.
Next page| No | Sentence |
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| 1 | It is true that , without a test , a country like Iraq could not be sure that its bomb would go off . |
| 2 | But knowledge of the English burnings was widespread , and Scottish Protestants could not be sure that something similar might not now happen to them . |
| 3 | Without a test , a renegade bomb-builder could not be sure that his bomb would go off . |
| 4 | The husbandman 's argument appears to have been this : he could easily determine by the above methods whether the seed-bed was ready for the corn and whether the soil was of the right tilth : but be could not be sure that the soil was warm enough to allow the seed to germinate . |
| 5 | For a moment he thought that a sprinkling of light fell wherever Fael-Inis walked , but as it touched the floor it vanished , and he could not be sure that he had seen it at all . |
| 6 | Corbett had been alone with her for five minutes when she died , but Mr Justice McKinnon told the jury ’ You simply could not be sure that in the short time Danielle was under his control he caused her death . |
| 7 | Lord Taylor , the Lord Chief Justice , sitting with Mr Justice Judge and Mr Justice Hidden , said they could not be sure that the original trial jury would have reached the same verdict if it had heard evidence which had since come to light . |
| 8 | She could not be certain that Phoebe wanted her and needed her . |
| 9 | But although she said it she could not be certain that it was true . |
| 10 | She could not be certain that she wanted it to be true . |
| 11 | He had even imagined that she mocked him with her smile , though he could not be certain that she had actually seen him there . |
| 12 | Once I noticed the familiar gap in a row of houses like the space left by a drawn tooth , but I could not be certain that it was the result of bombing and if it was it had happened a long time ago . |
| 13 | By March he was out again , and back at his office in Faber and Faber , although he was prudent enough to retire to bed early in the evening : with a complaint which had no organic cause , he could not be certain that he had been cured " . |
| 14 | Democrats , whilst welcoming Bush 's retreat on the tax issue , argued that it was unreasonable to expect Democrats to associate themselves with spending cuts and tax increases , if they could not be certain that the President could hold his own party to such a deal . |
| 15 | It could not be true that nervous strain made you lose weight . |
| 16 | You could n't be all that you are without despising me . |
| 17 | Although I did what I could to try to conceive a girl , I could n't be sure that I had . |
| 18 | She was afraid then , rather as a skier might feel when he looks down the steep whiteness of a dangerous slope , or a high diver who seems far above the water , but the sensation was so unusual to her that she could n't be sure that it was entirely unpleasant still strongly mixed , as it was , with curiosity . |
| 19 | While grudgingly accepting Mr Rosen 's line that there were some good teachers who did teach properly , he was quick to counter with the challenge that ‘ we could n't be sure that it was happening elsewhere ’ . |
| 20 | There had n't been a show , I had no contractions and I could n't be sure that my waters had broken . ’ |
| 21 | Could n't be sure that if he walked back in now she would n't still feel that leap of the heart , that curl of excitement . |
| 22 | However , she could n't be certain that the more expensive kinds were there and could be actually obtained inside the shop . |
| 23 | This glider looked sturdy enough , but he could n't be certain that it would return to the ground safely . |
| 24 | It could n't be true that her father 's leather business was failing , could it , and yet had n't he urged caution on several occasions lately ? |