Example sentences of "[was/were] possible [to-vb] " in BNC.
Next page| No | Sentence |
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| 1 | If it were possible to draw up reasonably accurate guidelines showing the rate of decline in use for each subject this would clearly serve as valuable background information for the librarian attempting to make discard or relegation decisions on individual volumes within those subject areas . |
| 2 | Even if it were possible to draw such a distinction satisfactorily , the advantages of doing so are at the moment not at all clear . |
| 3 | If ever it were possible to agree upon a scheme of regional government , then there might be a basis for regional representation , but attempts at this have so far failed . |
| 4 | If it were possible to reconvene the superseded parliaments which originally agreed the terms of union , no doubt such variation could be effected . |
| 5 | Trying to define , or speaking as if it were possible to define , ‘ precisely what He meant ’ by saying who He was , was a sort of profanity . |
| 6 | If it were possible to compile a complete list of the basic propositions needed to say everything that essentially needs to be said about the world , existential propositions would not be among them . |
| 7 | This means that , even if it were possible to deal with free-riders by making them breathe dirty air , it would be economically inefficient to do so . |
| 8 | If it were possible to yell for my Ma , that 's what I 'd be doing . |
| 9 | If only it were possible to carry out that silly threat she 'd made — to make him sorry he 'd ever met her . |
| 10 | If it were possible to use this audio-visual material for Swedish students , direct with the English commentaries , it would save considerable time and expense . |
| 11 | Even if it were possible to use all the shares in the index in an arbitrage transaction , for instance when F > ( S - D ) ( 1 + r ) and short selling shares is not required , arbitrageurs often choose to use an alternative approach . |
| 12 | As he wrote to Eulalia , abbess of Shaftesbury : ‘ I am so harassed in the archbishopric that if it were possible to do so without guilt , I would rather die than continue in it ’ . |
| 13 | He knew the duchy well and , Powicke concluded , ‘ he never wished , even if it were possible to do so , to relax his grasp upon the affairs of his distant province ’ . |
| 14 | Few of us have the time , training , or expertise to do this job properly , even if it were possible to do it for a population as small as 10 000 people — which it is not . |
| 15 | If it were possible to unfold the entire long history of the world 's religions in such a manner that it could be scrutinised , assimilated and judged in a single all-embracing operation , the verdict would be that it had strayed so far from the basic human need , and so far from the intentions of those good and sincere people who have throughout that history struggled to maintain its integrity , that it might well be condemned outright as a story of failure unmatched by anything else that has ever happened on earth . |
| 16 | I wish that it were possible to bring more of those who are responsible for them to justice , but , as my hon. Friend knows , because he makes a close study of such matters , it is often impossible for the police to identify those who are responsible . |
| 17 | If it were possible to store all the different types of primary data in computer-readable form then it would become feasible to use the speed of the computer to carry out the required searches , comparisons , overlays and numerical modelling . |
| 18 | Furthermore , even if it were possible to make the necessary calculations , the finance available is unlikely to be equivalent to these costs . |
| 19 | However , if it were possible to keep careful watch over a longer period , you would discover two interesting things . |
| 20 | The ‘ unit of desire ’ however , is admitted to be a presumption , but if it were possible to prove with scientific exactitude that it really existed then it would not be within the province of religion at all , but of science . |
| 21 | Even if it were possible to identify a certain causal agent inside someone 's head we certainly can not take off the top of the skull and mend it ! |
| 22 | Even if it were possible to model accurately the supply and demand responses to changes in taxes and transfer or benefit provisions of all kinds , it would remain a GNP or market calculation . |
| 23 | and if it , if it were possible to forecast absolutely what the result is going to be , er , scientific research would be much easier . |
| 24 | The implementation of any policy requires the official to exercise discretion — even if it were possible to prepare a rule-book catering for every eventuality it would probably be undesirable — and on each of these occasions he or she is ‘ making ’ policy . |
| 25 | She peered at its various buttons and dials and wondered if it were possible to wreck it by unintentional mis-setting . |
| 26 | The findings from the investigation , as given above , caused both the client and the analysts to review the situation and concentrate first on the general organisation of the filing system as a whole , to determine if it were possible to achieve some degree of commonality as a prerequisite to the development of a computer support system . |
| 27 | If it were possible to have sex with objects , then that would be a different matter ’ |
| 28 | If it were possible to have sex with objects , then that would be a different matter . ’ |
| 29 | If it were possible to diminish the use of gas , to increase British coal production and to erect trade and tariff barriers to ensure that we can not import foreign coal , what would the consequences be for those who want to use the power that is generated ? |
| 30 | Frye is writing here as if it were possible to distinguish the interests of one self sharply from those of another , and as if , were the effects of male domination to be undone , it would not be too much of a problem for the self to know what its interests were . |