Example sentences of "all he [modal v] do " in BNC.
Next page| No | Sentence |
|---|---|
| 1 | For a confidence boost , all he need do would be to look back on his management days at Huddersfield , where the Town scaled the heights in defiance of the most adverse conditions . |
| 2 | if it is considered that the information content is of paramount importance then it is valid to so construct a resource centre that every student may spend most of his time wired up to a dial-access system so that all he need do is dial a number , press a button and then sit passively absorbing what he sees on a screen and hears in his headphones … |
| 3 | All he need do is state his opinion clearly . |
| 4 | To Peggy Say , Anderson 's sister , it seemed that some particularly keen sympathy compelled North never to turn down her requests to see him , when all she would do was sit at his desk upbraiding him and complaining and crying ; and when all he could do was repeat , cryptically , infuriatingly , that the government was doing everything it could possibly think of . |
| 5 | I felt the pathos of this remark , as all he could do on the banjo was strum ‘ plunk plunk plunk ’ over and over again . |
| 6 | When Mr Crangle asked him how he was getting on , all he could do was smile . |
| 7 | All he could do was sit in the corner of his cage , hoping it would all end . |
| 8 | All he could do was smile and wriggle his toes in delight . |
| 9 | He found it hard to think , never mind talk ; all he could do was wait . |
| 10 | All he could do was chip out and hope to make par . |
| 11 | All he could do in advance was check that all was in order , give brief instructions and let them get on with it . |
| 12 | Now all he could do was wait . |
| 13 | So all he could do , poor bastard , was celebrate it with me . |
| 14 | With Rufus it did to some extent come back again and all he could do was grind it down and soldier on . |
| 15 | Horror-struck , all he could do was slam on the brakes and pray . |
| 16 | All he could do was watch and report back . |
| 17 | All he could do was wait . |
| 18 | There was a strange moment then , when he knew the bastard was still in the room , still watching him , and all he could do was wait for him to leave . |
| 19 | They came on him rapidly and powerfully and he decided that all he could do was to circle in a gentle way to indicate that he was not hostile , his heart filled with joy to see his own kind . |
| 20 | He fished the cubes out and put them into an ashtray and found it all he could do not to weep at the mess they made with the ash . |
| 21 | I kept on popping questions , he would n't answer , all he could do was look as if I had no right to ask . |
| 22 | And all he could do now was to turn in horror as that bellowing , roaring shape lunged with an encrusted claw through the metal stair-rails , which bent and squealed . |
| 23 | But all he could do was describe the look of the equipment on the gun deck . |
| 24 | All he could do for the moment was to stand in the doorway and look about him . |
| 25 | All he could do now was keep steady despite his growing anger . |
| 26 | I 'm not necessarily advocating playing Sterland , but saying all he could do was tackle and shoot is being unfair . |
| 27 | ‘ All he could do was watch helplessly as the defendant , shouting incoherently , went towards Mr Robinson and began to attack him . ’ |
| 28 | Having perfected this petulant stance , all he can do is reiterate it — with a self-deprecating acknowledgement of the onset of self-parody : ‘ Stop Me if You Think You 've Heard This One Before ’ , ‘ Sweet and Tender Hooligan ’ , where the chorus is simply ‘ et cetera , et cetera ’ … |
| 29 | All he can do is resort to his native cunning and to prayer . |
| 30 | All he can do is moan with pain . |