How to use "could" in a sentence

I believed I could be free again

The bad news is that the boulders could move

I could amputate my arm using the multi-tool

I know this could be a final goodbye to my parents and sister, Sonja.

Can I eat them, I wonder? Even if I could, it wouldn't be enough to keep me alive.

How could she find the correct license-plate number?

How much longer can I survive? Death could come at any moment

I could still die at any moment

I know that even if I could travel back in time, I wouldn't change anything

We could see it because there was a strange light under the water

No one could hear me

We hoped dial in the morning someone from the ship could see us if we were still alive.

We could see nothing around us

We had to wait six days for the water to rise before the ship could leave

I could see it from the ship

Ned Land asked the Captain if we could go on land and hunt some animals because he didn't want to eat fish

They had large glass heads with special tanks filled with air, so we could breathe.

At times he could be cold and serious

Then he could cry for a member of his crew'.

Ned Land had his harpoon with him, but he was very busy trying to collect as many oysters as he could.

I could not think only of myself

Ned Land could not escape without our help.

We came closer to the light, and I could see trees on the ocean floor.

I did not understand how such things could be there.

Who could be unhappy? Only one person - Ned Land.

He thought nothing could stop him, his men or his ship.

The giant squid shot black ink out of its body, and none of us could see anything

The only sound we could hear was the ship's engine

Ned Land could not wait any longer.

She could see the White Rabbit and she ran after him again

She went to the door, but could not open it

Something was in the water - Alice could hear it

When she could hear the Rabbit outside the window, she moved her arm up and down

She ran out of the house as quickly as she could.

This was another difficult question and Alice could not answer it.

In another minute, she could see its ears and eyes.

She could hear the Queen at the other end of the garden

But the Mad Hatter ran very fast and they could not catch him.

Coach Fellers asked me to put on a football suit, then asked me to undress and dress again, twenty times, until I could do it easily.

The others started running after me, and I ran as fast as I could

Everybody was surprised to see that I could catch the ball

I wasn't clever enough at the lessons, and there was nothing that anybody could do about it

Well, I got tins of tomatoes, some rice, apples, potatoes, and everything that I could find

I put everything in it, and after about an hour you could smell the cooking

It was terrible! People on fire, and nothing that we could do

We could hear shooting all round us, but they didn't hit us

I ran fast, shouting and screaming as loudly as I could

He looked up at me, and said, 'Forrest, why did this happen?' What could I say? Then he said, 'Play me a song on the harmonica, will you?'

Nobody could get any help to us, and the enemy soldiers were so near that we could hear them talking

Well, lots of newspaper men started taking photographs before Colonel Gooch could run across and pull me away!

I could hear the music that was playing inside and, after a minute or two, I began playing with it

'She was there all night before we could get her out.'

What could I do next? I didn't know

Now, if they would make the effort in good temper, could they not with nearly equal unanimity frame and pass a law by means of which to keep good that unanimous oath?

And while it is obviously possible that such decision may be erroneous in any given case, still the evil effect following it, being limited to that particular case, with the chance that it may be overruled and never become a precedent for other cases, can better be borne than could the evils of a different practice.

Now, at the expiration of four years, during which public declarations have been constantly called forth on every point and phase of the great contest which still absorbs the attention, and engrosses the energies of the nation, little that is new could be presented

The prayers of both could not be answered; that of neither has been answered fully.

I could see everybody who came into the insurance company

Mr Slinkton was embarrassed at my presence in the room, I could see.

You thought you could kill me for the two thousand pounds of the insurance policy, didn't you? You wanted to kill me with brandy, didn't you? But you wanted me to die quickly

I could not save her - but I promised to pursue you to the end

I did everything that I could to help him, but the poor man died a few months later.

This was a new, unknown type of murder, which they could not understand

It was getting light and he could see that the lock on the cellar door was secure

Mrs Darrell could not describe the man very well

Five people in number 29 could see the murder scene from their windows

Mr Diemschutz looked down to his right and in the pitch darkness he could just see a shape on the ground

Then she started singing quietly, and at 12.30 she asked the policeman on duty when she could go

She was pleasant when sober but she could be noisy and very quarrelsome when drunk

Unfortunately he had not worked for some months so the couple could not pay the rent, and Mary had returned to prostitution

He visited her around 7.30-7.45 on the evening of Thursday, November 8th to tell her he had no work and could not give her any money

Mary was so drunk that she could not answer properly

That night it rained hard and Mrs Cox could not sleep well

Inspector Abbeline arrived at 11.30 a.m., but he could not give the order to break open the door until 1.30 p.m

But he had only arrived in England the year before, so how could he know the area as well as the Ripper? And is it possible that Jack the Ripper changed from savagely killing prostitutes to poisoning barmaids?

But they could not print details of the killer's mutilations, which the doctor did not reveal

His doors were never locked, so that anybody who needed his help could find him easily.

Before the bishop could reply, there was a heavy knock on the door.

'My name is Jean Valjean,' the stranger said before anybody could speak

He looked around but could see nothing in the darkness - just a purple mist rising slowly from the fields.

But before Valjean could produce more coins, the priest rode away in terror.

'I used to work in Paris, but my husband died and I lost my job.' She could not tell Mme Thenardier the truth, which was that she had been made pregnant by a young man who had then abandoned her

They could easily be sisters.'

Will you do that for me? I could pay six francs a month.'

Fantine could not sleep that night

What could she do? She had sold her hair and her teeth; what else could she sell? And then she decided that she had no other choice: she would have to sell herself.

At last she would be cared for, and she could look forward to a life of happiness with Cosette

Madeleine - as we shall continue to call him for this part of the story - knew that he could not let Champmathieu go to prison for crimes he had not committed

At first, no one believed him, but he managed to persuade the court by skilfully questioning each of the witnesses, revealing personal information that only the real Jean Valjean could have known

She was cold and hungry as she dragged the bucket behind her along the crowded street, but she could not resist stopping in front of one of the stalls

She could tell from his clothes that he probably had no money.

But before she could start her knitting, she heard Mme Thenardier's angry voice demanding, 'Where's the bread I told you to get?'

But before she could deliver the blow the old man, who had seen everything, interrupted her.

She turned her back on the room and began to play with it, hoping that no one could see what she was doing

How could I have thought such a thing? After speaking to him this evening, I can see that he doesn't look like the inspector at all.'

Valjean quietly lay down on the mattress on his floor, but he could not close his eyes all night

It seemed empty, although he could not see into the shadows behind the trees

By keeping close to the walls in the shadows, he could clearly see what was happening in the light

He could see their faces clearly in the moonlight, and one of them belonged to Inspector Javert.

He could see four figures in the distance on the far side of the bridge.

Valjean looked desperately for an escape from the alley, but could see none

He would be able to climb the wall on his own, but how could he carry Cosette? Suddenly, he had an idea

Gillenormand made Pontmercy an offer which he could not refuse.

Life was hard for him, but he never forgot the promise he had made his father: that he would find Thenardier, the man who had saved his father's life, and help him in any way he could.

She was talking quietly to her father, and Marius could hear the soft, exciting murmur of her voice

Sometimes he stood for half an hour in a place where her father could not see him, looking at her and enjoying the small, secret smiles she sent him.

The girl could not understand his behaviour at all, and looked at him with a puzzled expression.

'If they had had another neighbour,' he thought, 'one who had noticed their suffering, perhaps they could have been rescued by now.'

An elderly man and a young girl appeared in the doorway and Marius, still looking through the hole in the wall, could not believe his eyes.

In the bright mist that clouded his vision, Marius could hardly see the features of the sweet face that had lit his life for six months and had then disappeared, filling his life with darkness

But what could he do? He could not warn M

He managed to open it but, before he could jump, the three men jumped on him and held him to the floor.

Before the others in the room could react, M

The brave man was in terrible danger, but Marius still could not fire the gun

They threw the rope ladder from the open window but, before they could escape, the door opened and Inspector Javert walked in.

Marius still said nothing, and after a moments pause she said, 'You don't seem very glad to see me, but I could make you look happy if I wanted to!'

He could not speak, and Cosette felt his hand grow cold.

He replied, in a voice so low that she could hardly hear it, 'I don't understand what you mean.'

The poor condition of his clothes could not be seen in the half-darkness of the room

He could think of only one thing: his meeting later that evening with Cosette

He understood business, but he could not understand the problems of poor people

Neither could he understand the concept of freedom of speech, and he often sent soldiers into the streets to attack people who were making public protests.

Before he could move, Enjolras ordered four men to search him

Around the corner, he could see a row of soldiers aiming their guns down the rue de Chanvrerie, waiting for the order to fire.

He could not believe this was happening to him

Marius gazed into the shadows, but could still see nothing.

By the light of a lamp on the pavement, he could see a torn jacket, trousers with holes in them, and two bare feet

Sounds of chains and of heavy wheels moving along the stone streets could be heard, and then soldiers came into view at the end of the street, pulling a large cannon

In the pauses between shooting, the rebels could hear the sound of fighting in other parts of Paris

It was a situation that only a bird could have escaped from

He could just see, by the grey light from the grille above his head, that he was surrounded by walls

He could not see where he was going, but he knew he had to follow the downward slope of the passages towards the river.

Valjean tore pieces oft his own shirt and bandaged Marius's wounded shoulder as well as he could

Valjean repeated the address until he could remember it, returned the wallet to Marius's pocket, picked Marius up again and continued his journey downwards towards the river

Through the bars, Valjean could see daylight, the river, a narrow riverbank - but how could he get out?

He could not understand why nobody could tell him how he had been saved

He noticed his grandfather's tenderness towards him, but he could not forget the old man's unfairness and cruelty to his father, who had died penniless and unloved

Most of all, however, he thought about Cosette, and how he could find her again.

It was arranged that the couple, who could not believe their sudden, new-found happiness, would live with M

He could not believe that this was the same man he had seen at the barricade all those months ago - it seemed like a bad dream to him.

What could he do?

I could not silence the voice that speaks to me when I am alone.'

I don't think I could bear it..

We could meet in that little room on the ground floor

At first, Cosette could not understand why Valjean refused to meet her upstairs

She could not understand why her father, as she still thought of Valjean, had stopped visiting her

Marius could not believe his luck

Marius had only read the letter quickly, and could not remember the details, so he said, 'Go on.'

The wolf ran as fast as he could, taking the shortest path, and the little girl took a roundabout way, entertaining herself by gathering nuts, running after butterflies, and gathering bouquets of little flowers

The wolf cried out to her, softening his voice as much as he could, "Pull the bobbin, and the latch will go up."

Yeah, he could not remember, but he knew.

God, he wishes he could remember last night: not just the girl's expression when he hit her, but everything.

"You said no one could get hurt!"

The sound of the sirens was still in the distance, and Brandon thought that maybe they were still okay and that maybe they could leave; maybe they could escape together

"Your chief inspector said you could help

Well, I suppose we could have a look around the school..."

And they put him behind it, in a deep dark corner where no one could see him and the light disappeared as they put the last bricks in place

He tried desperately to shout, but he could not, and he tried to move, but he could not

And Owen knew the boy was interested then, and for the first time in a long time he thought that maybe there was something they could do together

I know it because I can read people, and I could see all this when I looked at Jimmy Lane.

You see, Jimmy could play cards.

Poker, blackjack, rummy: you name the game and Jimmy could play it, though he especially liked poker

He could cut and shuffle the deck like he had eight arms instead of two, and he could remember every card he saw in a split second and could use his fingers and little tricks to put the cards where he wanted them in the deck.

And Jimmy thought he could take it all.

And he thought he could do it quickly

She could say with her hand on her heart that this year - her eighteenth - had been the best so far

Maybe we could go to the beach?"

Instead, there was calm blue ocean as far as they could see, under a cloudless sky

All they could hear were the sounds of the waves and the gentle wind in the trees

It was one of the best illusions available in the simulator, because if you stood at the edge of the cliff, it really felt like you could fall.

She didn't know how Cham could afford it, but he was always so kind and generous - it would be rude to ask

Sala's grandmother remembered life before the Oil Wars, when people could travel freely and see other parts of the world

She had a hat pulled low over her face, so it was partly hidden, but Sala could just see her green eyes.

Cham kissed her, and before Sala could say anything else, he turned and ran out into the rain.

She wished she could believe him

Sala could see from her face that it hurt her to move like that

"How could it be?"

"Did the woman say how you could contact her?"

If it really was from outside, it could be dangerous to say anything about it

There was so much you could see on the ultranet or at the simulator center

Was this the best life they could hope for?

"It was a special offer - if you bought one experience, you could get another for free." He suddenly started talking very fast

You could run, ride a bicycle, climb, or jump on different machines, which created energy, so then you added the units to your wrist chip

She managed not to say anything in front of her little brother, but Gran could see at once that she was upset.

How wonderful to think that there might still be a different world out there - a world where you could do all those things for real!

One wall of the apartment was just plain white, with a hologram you could turn on and off

"I wish someone else in your family could do the pod thing," she said

You could move out of here

Your parents could rent a sky apartment instead."

One wall was invisible - all you could see was a huge 3D hologram advertising Pod Life.

Zee guided Sala into her pod; the door closed, and she could feel the cool metal attachments touching her face and her body suit

She could swim!

He held on to a dolphin's tail and it began to play with him, pulling him along much faster than he could swim

She wished they could just go back to normal now

But she could see he was only being fair.

Sala realized that for Gran, the rose fruit meant something real; it spoke of a world that Sala could only begin to imagine

All the reasons she'd given to Cham ran through her mind, but how could she explain them to Niki? It was really complicated.

She wished she could be with Cham, but his family was in crisis; they all needed him more than she did right now

But before Mom could answer, there was a gasp from Gran

We think we can trust them, but we know that this letter could put you in danger

Uncle Eston is right - this could all be very dangerous."

How could she ask Cham to keep a secret from his parents?

If the government finds out that messages are getting through the force field and passing across the city boundary, there could be big trouble."

"It's the least real thing you could possibly do

What more could she say? Cham's number one consideration right now was his family, and she couldn't stand in the way of that; but she wished that he would at least think about other possibilities.

Surely, this wasn't really going to happen? But there was nothing she could do

What more could she say?

Behind him, Sala could just see a complicated collection of screens.

"But why? Why would they do that? And how could they know that wild roses mean so much to Gran?"

"You could go and live with Great-Uncle Eston

We could come later

I would love to leave if I really believed we could

Sala wished she could see him on her own, but she knew that time with his family was precious

"We could do pictures of ghosts." His youngest sister looked puzzled

She was counting the hours until she could speak to him again.

Maybe you could try again."

She turned away, and before Sala could stop her, she picked up her yellow bag and disappeared through the center's doors.

What else could I say? Sala was kicking herself for not keeping Wena talking for longer

The first week ended at last, bringing the day when Sala could speak to Cham again

"I just wish I could do more

"It could be really dangerous, Gran."

"But I could." Sala was feeling determined now

How could Cham know anything new about the rebels, living inside the pod? Anyway, Gran was right: it was worth it

Any kind of rebellion had to keep moving so that no one could discover it."

But he says that it could be from anyone."

"I think I could test this," she said

It was good to know that they could do something to test Eston's letter; but even so, it wouldn't tell them where Wena and Oban's group had gone

"The letter from Gran's brother." The words slipped out before she could stop herself, and she knew at once that she shouldn't have said it

"He's learning to ski! I wish we could join him

There was only one thing she could do

On the one hand, she could now see a future full of possibilities..

"Do you think we could have a few minutes to talk on our own, at the end of the hour?"

We could have a different future

We were given exercises to practice, so that if we were caught, we could stay strong." She looked at Sala's face.

I went up to Mrs Van Hopper's rooms as slowly as I could

'You are wrong, I could never forget you,' said de Winter in a cold, hard voice.

I could not go out

'I'm sure I could look after Mrs Van Hopper,' I said

It was so near that the sound of its waters could always be heard from the house

I could not meet Mrs Van Hopper and answer the endless questions

I could not tell Mrs Van Hopper that every morning I drove with de Winter in his car

I could not help looking at it as we drove along.

'If only we could keep our memories like scent in a bottle,' I said one day

'And then we could open the bottle when we wanted to remember the moment again.'

I could not speak

I could feel the tears coming into my eyes

I could look forward to tomorrow morning and the morning after

I could call him Maxim

People could not forget her

I thought I could hear her voice calling him

'I think we could still catch it

I could not think clearly.

How could he love me, after her? I would be a companion for him

'She could not speak at first

'Manderley at last.' I could hear the excitement in his voice.

I could see their faces, all turned towards us

She could see that I was awkward and shy, and a little afraid of my new life at Manderley.

From its long windows I could see the lawns and beyond the lawns, the sea

But somehow I still could not believe it.

I looked round for a box of matches, but I could not find one

'Oh, Frith,' I said awkwardly, 'I could not find any matches

I could not tell Frith that I had never seen the morning-room

Who could I write to? I knew nobody

I could not meet them by myself.

I hurried up some stairs, hoping that I could find my way to my bedroom in the east wing

I could stay there until Maxim came back.

Below me I could see green lawns and the sea

Yes, Mrs Danvers was right, you could hear the sea from here.

I could show them to you now.'

I could hear the sound of voices from the morning-room

I could not look at Maxim

I could see that he loved it as much as Maxim did.

When lunch was over, I could see that Maxim was tired

It could not be touched

Had Beatrice said something to make him angry? I could not remember.

I looked back, but I could not see Maxim

The door opened before Maxim could answer

I could smell a scent, a scent I knew

Was there nowhere I could escape from Rebecca?

I could see the sea from the terrace and the lawns

When I stood on the terrace, I could hear the sound of great waves on the shore

If I could not sleep, I went to the window and looked out on to the rose-garden

I could not forget the lost look in Maxim's eyes

I could not forget his words: 'I was a fool to bring you back to Manderley.'

I could not tell the woman that Maxim had never spoken about the ball.

Frank turned away from me so that I could not see his face.

As she left the room I could see the scorn and hatred in her eyes.

I could not understand it

I could read the name on it now: Je Reviens

I could smell cigarette smoke

I could hear the sea clearly

She came nearer and I could feel her breath on my face.

Even with the shutters and windows closed, I could hear the dull, harsh sound of the sea in the bay.

I could not take my eyes away from hers

I went on eating breakfast as slowly as I could

I could not forget my visit to the west wing

But I could not stop thinking about Favell and his friendship with Mrs Danvers

The door was shut, but I could hear what he said.

I could tell that he was very angry

'Perhaps you could copy one of the pictures in the gallery,' Mrs Danvers suggested

Go quickly, before anyone comes.' I could not speak

'You could not have known.'

'How could you know?' said Beatrice

I could see the coloured lights in the trees

I could think of no other words.

I could never be the mistress of Manderley

I could not hide in my bedroom any longer

I could not stop my tears now

He could not help me

No one could help me, but myself.

I could not get these thoughts out of my mind.

I could not see the woods

I could hear the sea and I could smell it in the fog

I could not speak to Rebecca, but I could speak to Mrs Danvers.

'When she was only twelve years old, the men could not stop looking at her

Why shouldn't I cry? What's it to do with you? You came here and thought you could take Mrs de Winter's place

I could see the stones of the terrace below

I could forget about loving Maxim

I could forget about Rebecca

I could not see him, but I could hear his voice

The fog was beginning to clear and I could see the woods again

When I came to the bay, I could see the ship at once

Frank was there talking to a coast-guard, but I could not see Maxim.

I knew we could never be happy.'

But I could feel nothing now.

'How could he?' said Maxim

How could I ask you to love me when I knew you loved Rebecca?'

Things that I could not tell anyone.'

After that, I knew I could never trust Rebecca with anyone.

'Then, one night, I could stand our life here no longer

I could not look at anyone

I could not look at him.

I tried to stand up, but I could not

He could not know how much Maxim had told me

I could not speak or walk towards him.

I could not think why Favell had come.

If I had two or three thousand pounds, I could live quite well

The peace of Manderley could not be broken

Its beauty could not be destroyed

I could not believe it.

Then we were round the bend of the drive and I could see the house no longer.

'If you have any record of a visit on that day, could we see it?' Colonel Julyan asked

The X-rays showed that she could never have had a child

'I suppose she could not face the pain

Nothing could hurt us any more.

Manderley could be ours

I wanted to get to the Happy Valley, but I could not find it

Tina could see only the side of his face, but she gasped in painful recognition.

Each time, for a few hours after she woke, she could not face reality

This was a warm and wonderful fantasy, but she could not sustain it for long

Grief could drive a person crazy

Closing her eyes now, chewing the toast, Tina could still see him - three years old, peanut butter smeared all over his lips and chin - as he grinned and said, More neenut putter toast, please.

The Lido was one of those incredibly lavish productions that could be seen nowhere in the world but Vegas, for it was only in Las Vegas that a multimillion-dollar show could be staged year after year with little concern for profit; such vast sums were spent on the elaborate sets and costumes, and on the enormous cast and crew, that the hotel was usually happy if the production merely broke even from ticket and drink sales

At first, it had seemed terribly wrong that such a wonderful opportunity should come her way before she'd even had time to mourn her boy, as if the Fates were so shallow and insensitive as to think that they could balance the scales and offset Danny's death merely by presenting her with a chance at her dream job

In the brittle silence of the desert night, she imagined that she could sense an intruder listening too, listening for her.

For one thing, she hadn't known what she could say

As long as she left his things undisturbed, she could continue to entertain the hope that Danny was not dead, that he was just away somewhere for a while, and that he would shortly pick up his life where he had left off

Danny, of course, had been writing about something else, and the dark interpretation that could be drawn from those two words now, after his death, was just a macabre coincidence.

It was so huge that a DC-9 airliner could be rolled onto it without using half the space available - a feat that had been accomplished as part of a production number on a similar stage at a hotel in Reno several years ago

His face, which was as broad and comic as that of a clown, could stretch into an endless series of rubbery expressions

When he finally stopped hugging Tina, he could not stand still

He was so rich that he could retire and live the rest of his life in the high style and splendor for which he had a taste

Tina wanted to stay in the wings throughout the performance, but she could do nothing more behind the curtains

Of course no amount of amusing talk, no quantity of icy Dom PS 233;rignon could render her unaware of the excitement that was building in the showroom as curtain time drew near

She thought: My God, I've been letting myself dry up! How could I have forgotten this!

Even these days, when most machines could be played with electronically validated value cards, the nickel duchesses wore black gloves to keep their hands from becoming filthy after hours of handling coins and pulling levers; they always sat on stools while they played, and they remembered to alternate hands when operating the machines in order not to strain the muscles of one arm, and they carried bottles of liniment just in case.

The wisest thing she could do would be to turn back, walk away from the door and out of the house

In spite of her anxiety, a power she could sense - but which she could not define - drew her inexorably to Danny's room.

But how was that possible? How in the name of God could there be ice here, in a well-heated house and on a night when the outside temperature was at least twenty degrees above the freezing point?

He was interested primarily in learning more about the mind that could create a work like Magyck! He had seen less than one-fourth of the program, yet he knew it was a hit - and far superior to others of its kind

A Vegas stage extravaganza could easily go off the rails

A glittery fantasy could metamorphose into a crude, tasteless, and stupid bore if the wrong hand guided it

Although Vivienne could see where the noise originated, she couldn't locate any source for the bitterly cold air

For several seconds she was certain that she could feel the switch straining under her fingertip as it tried to pop on.

But she wasn't able to imagine what it could be.

As she listed her blessings, Tina was astonished at how much difference one year could make in a life

Indeed, she couldn't see how anything could go wrong.

She could turn on the light and call him now

She could find no sign of forced entry.

What possible excuse could he have? What twisted logic could justify this sort of sick behavior? It was crazy, hateful.

Michael led the way, gently pushing and elbowing through the holiday crowd, and Tina followed quickly in his wake, before the path that he made could close up again.

"You managed," she said, and that was as close as she could come to accusing him of anything.

The only way she could have held on to her husband would have been to abandon her new career, and she had refused to do that.

She said, "I didn't make up that story about someone breaking into the house just so you could play the strong, reliable man to my weak, frightened female

She could see what he was up to, and she was not going to be distracted from her main intention.

You could have taken Danny away for the weekend if you didn't want to be near me

You could have gone camping with him

You could have taken him down to Disneyland for a couple days

You could have enjoyed that time with your son

You could have had that precious time with him

She was crying for all the things that might have been, and for what could never be again.

She opened her purse, found her makeup, and covered the tearstains as best she could.

Only a skilled burglar could have broken in without leaving a trace

As far as she could tell, no one was tailing her.

"If you want me to, I could stay a little longer."

If she needed to know how much money each of these people earned in a year, the computer could tell her

It could tell her each man's preferred brand of liquor, each wife's favorite flower and perfume, the make of car they drove, the names and ages of their children, the nature of any illnesses or other medical conditions they might have, their favorite foods, their favorite colors, their tastes in music, their political affiliations, and scores of other facts both important and trivial

These were customers to whom the hotel was especially anxious to cater, and the more the Pyramid knew about them, the better it could serve them

Because so much material in the hotel's files was extremely confidential information about high rollers, and because the Pyramid's list of favored customers would be of enormous value to competitors, only approved people could obtain this data, and a record was kept of everyone who accessed it

But how could any stranger so easily gain entrance to both her house and the hotel computer? Didn't he, after all, have to be someone she knew?

What stranger could possibly hate her so much?

How could the temperature have dropped so far in such a short time? She listened for the sound of the air conditioner, but the telltale whisper wasn't issuing from the wall vents

How could he make the room colder without using the air conditioner? Whoever he was, he could override her computer from another terminal in the building; she could accept that

But how could he possibly make the air grow so cold so fast?

"Who could you possibly have been seeing? They've all gone home

And if he were lying, he wouldn't have told her the story about Charlie and coffee, for that could be substantiated or disproved with only a minimum of effort; he would have come up with a better alibi if he really needed one

Tina could no longer sit still

He was so good that he could safely take young boys into the Sierras for sixteen years, a challenge a lot of other winter survival experts wouldn't touch

"Someone could have programmed it to spew out this stuff about Danny," Elliot said

"But I don't see how he could make the terminal switch itself on."

"Who? Who could be doing it to you?"

Do you really think you're so far gone that you could do something like that and not remember it? Do you think you've got multiple personalities and one doesn't know what the others are up to?"

"How could he be?"

"How could he have survived the accident you described?" Elliot asked.

"Nothing could be worse than the ones I'm having now."

"I suppose you could be right."

Then we could open the grave early Saturday."

The two of us haunted furniture stores from Vegas to Los Angeles to San Francisco, antique shops, galleries, everything from flea markets to the most expensive stores we could find

Her smile was so lovely that he could have stood there all evening, just staring at the sweet curve of her lips.

He could not remember ever having been half so clumsy in the kitchen as he was this evening

Tina stayed the night with Elliot, and he realized that he had forgotten how pleasant it could be to share his bed with someone for whom he truly cared

At night, the view of Las Vegas from the mountainside was undeniably spectacular, but Elliot couldn't understand what other reasons anyone could possibly have for choosing to live here rather than in the city's older, greener neighborhoods

The residents of Sunrise Mountain could expect to share their patios and decks and pool aprons with occasional visiting scorpions, tarantulas, and rattlesnakes

Elliot didn't want to ask Kennebeck for a favor within hearing of a dozen lawyers, and today there was nowhere in the house where they could be assured of privacy

Bob shook his head in agreement, frowning, as if he was dismayed to think that he could be mistaken for a common thief.

"The only way you could have found out about the exhumation so quickly is if Kennebeck told you."

How could she have dreamed about this hideous creature just last night and then find it waiting for her here, today, only hours later?

"If you want, I could just go in through the garage door."

It could be an underground break on your property

He could be at her place in five minutes.

Kevin's parents went away from the city immediately after the funeral, intending to spend a month at their summerhouse in the country, where they could be free from the press of business and social duties, the better to mourn their lost child

He could not have been buried alive

Furthermore, this was not the mid-nineteenth century; these days, doctors could detect even the vaguest heartbeat, the shallowest respiration, the dimmest traces of brain-wave activity.

As far as she could see, only one rational explanation presented itself

She had paged through only two of the magazines Danny had bought, the first two, when she had been trying to make up her mind whether such unusual reading material could have any harmful effects on him

"I just wanted to let you know I was going, so you could lock the door behind me."

Elliot pushed her away from the Mercedes so he could open the door on the passenger side

"If I could get my hands on the son of a bitch, I'd gouge his eyes out."

And there wasn't a shirt made that could be buttoned easily around his thick, muscular neck

Just to hold the boat until we could see it and make up our minds."

Obviously, it pleased Tom to think that people who could afford a Mercedes were not so smart after all

But once more, incredibly, he was being hunted, and he wondered how long he could survive.

With more than a million full-time residents, with more than twenty million tourists a year, and with a vast desert on which to sprawl, Vegas offered thousands of dark, quiet corners where two people on the run could safely stop to catch their breath and settle upon a course of action.

"Is that likely? I mean, how could they be sure he'd win the election?"

Elliot drove behind the restaurant and tucked the Mercedes into a slot in the deepest shadows, between a Toyota Celica and a small motor home, where it could not be seen from the street.

He knew exactly what she meant, but he didn't want to think about it, because there was no way he could make sense of it

Elliot couldn't see it, but he could hear the beating of its wings.

"He could be afraid

"You said we could go to a reporter, try to get media interest brewing

Chilled, Tina said, "But how much could the kids have seen? You're the one who said security was easy to maintain when one of these installations is located in the wilderness

"He could tell us what we want to know."

"Well, isn't there any way that we could slip past them and get at Kennebeck?"

The best thing we could do is get the grave reopened

We could go around the world on the cards alone

Elliot pulled the jukebox from the wall so the old man could reach the cord.

But before she could think of a way to phrase her odd request, the old man succeeded in unplugging the machine.

"What are you talking about? Did you see what I saw in there? Did you hear the jukebox? I don't see how that could have cheered you up

"If fear and stress could increase the power of his psychic gifts, why didn't he start trying to get in touch with you months ago?"

I don't know." A flood of unreasonable anger washed through her: "Christ, how could I know the answer to that?"

No one could have seen the murder

"How could it be a heart attack, him being so young?" Bruckster wondered

If Stryker could be believed, the woman's motivations were innocent enough

If the woman actually hadn't known anything of the cover-up, then the Network could have used her ex-husband and the legal system to delay the reopening of the grave

In the meantime, Network agents could have located a boy's body in the same state of decay, as Danny's corpse would have been if it had been locked in that coffin for the past year

Then the guilt-stricken mother could have been permitted one last, late, ghastly look at the remains of her son.

"If he thought he could get any help from the cops, he'd have been there already," Kennebeck said

Even if he was a natural then, there's no way he could still be as sharp as he once was."

So if you look at it that way, it worked out as well as it possibly could."

I still think you could have avoided issuing all those termination orders

They'd exhume it illegally if they could, but they can't get near the cemetery with us watching it

He could destroy the Network, given half a chance

He was overwhelmed by the astonishing notion that he could actually feel goodwill in the air, a tangible radiation of love and affection

As far as he could tell, no one followed them.

Risky as it might be to express doubt to any colleague on the project, Dombey could not control himself: "Clean? This whole thing was never clean

Even in the dim light, Elliot could see the fringe of icicles hanging from the roof of the long back porch

The silencer was so effective that the shots could not be heard above the brittle, papery rustle of the wind.

Even in the dim, illusory light from the surrounding snow, Elliot could see that the sentry's eyes were fixed in the same unseeing gaze that Bellicosti was even now directing at the bathroom window.

They figured there wasn't anywhere else we could go but Bellicosti's funeral home."

As the sound of the Chevy faded, he could discern the roar of another vehicle, approaching fast

He felt along the inner faces of the fenders, around the tire wells, where a transponder could have been stuck in place quickly and easily

"Listen, if I could get my hands on the people who're trying to keep us from finding Danny, I wouldn't have any compunctions about killing them

Maybe killing them is the most natural, admirable thing I could do."

He could only manage to get on a plane after he had medicated himself

During the first year, he'd taken commercial flights or rented the services of a trustworthy private pilot who could fly the conventional twin-engine craft that Alexander's predecessor had managed to pry out of the Network's budget

Most of them had served their country openly, in a supremely visible fashion, where everyone could see and admire their selfless public-spiritedness

George was encouraged by the President to believe that eventually he would be promoted to the bureau chief of the entire western half of the country - and then all the way to the top, if only he could get the floundering western division functioning as smoothly as the South American and Nevada offices

With that title, he would be one of the most powerful men in the United States, more of a force to be reckoned with than any mere Secretary of State or Secretary of Defense could hope to be.

He could never hope to receive the public acclaim and honor that had been heaped upon other men in his family

None of those people could compromise the Network

She cried out, but then she saw that Death could not quite reach her

The hole in the wall was not wide enough for him to step through, into her passageway; he could only thrust one arm at her, and his long, bony fingers were an inch or two short of her

"We'd be killed before we could reach him

"But even if Danny could somehow get us in," he said, "we don't know where they're keeping him

This secret installation could be anywhere

It could be anywhere in those mountains."

They used an electronic scrambling device, so they could speak candidly, and the old man was furious and characteristically blunt.

If you'd tell me what this is all about, maybe I could help you better."

The only way you could understand is if you had the dream yourself

I'm sure he was telling me that he could help us get to him."

"I guess I could have some money transferred from my Vegas bank," Elliot said

This wasn't insurance against the unforeseen; this was simply prudent planning for the trouble they could foresee all too well.

"You get the feeling that civilization could be destroyed while you're out here, and you'd never be aware of it."

"It could be a new lump of brain tissue," Dombey told him.

could the parietal spot have a direct connection with the frost somehow?"

An ex-showgirl! Alexander refused to believe that a showgirl could be of more than average intelligence

What could it be? What was their edge?

Not a single tree or any other sizable object remained, nothing behind which a man could hide

How long could Danny continue to pave the way? The boy appeared to have some incredible powers, but he wasn't God

Apparently, the door could be opened only from within, after those, seeking entrance had been scrutinized by the camera that hung over the portal.

The young guard wheezed in pain, but as far as Tina could see, he was not mortally wounded

Danny seemed able to work miracles with inanimate objects, but he could not control people, like the guard upstairs, whom Elliot had been forced to shoot

There were more video displays than Tina could count at a glance; most were switched on, and data flowed in the form of graphs, charts, and numbers

Tables were arranged along the fourth wall, covered with books, file folders, and numerous instruments that Tina could not identify.

Maybe Danny could prevent the alarms from sounding, and maybe he could not, so Elliot fired once, and the display screen dissolved into thousands of splinters of glass.

She could not have said anything else that would have had a fraction as much impact on them as the words she'd spoken

Tina could hardly recognize his weary, cracking voice.

But he hugged her very hard, and again she was surprised by how much strength he could still summon from his devastated body

"If I understand you, the Chinese could use Wuhan-400 to wipe out a city or a country, and then there wouldn't be any need for them to conduct a tricky and expensive decontamination before they moved in and took over the conquered territory."

Tina had pulled the blanket off the bed and folded it in half, so she could wrap Danny in it for the trip out to the Explorer

Apparently, he convinced himself he could run away from the infection

Jaborski didn't believe Bollinger's story for a minute, but he finally offered to take him to the wildlife center where a rescue effort could be mounted

For as long as he could remember, he had been fascinated with death, with the mechanics and the meaning of it, and he had longed to know what it was like on the other side - without, of course, wishing to commit himself to a one-way journey there

And as far as Tina could see, it was the only thing that explained Danny's phenomenal new powers.

In fact, when you tell your story to the press, maybe you could slant it that way."

No, she wouldn't tell anyone what Danny could do

The producer, the studio, and the network never could agree on a title, and no one liked my idea - Kickass Koontz Cinema - and probably even realized I was not serious in proposing it.

I was so young and naive, I assumed "network-approved writers" meant that each of these writers would be among the finest in the TV business, on the planet, in the universe, the elite of the elite, the crS232; me de la crS232; me, superexcellent wordsmiths incapable of spinning any story that wasn't the top, the ower of Pisa, the Mona Lisa, the Louvre Museum, the Colosseum! Network-approved writers! I was in the lap of God, in the hands of ministering angels, and there could be no doubt whatsoever that we would have a hit with Help, My Feet Are Stuck to the Floor in Dean Koontz's Theater or whatever it would be called.

The other three quarters of the time was spent - so it seemed to me - in a competition to come up with idiotic plot or character changes with the intention of seeing who could plunge me into the longest spell of speechlessness

Because I was never in the room with both partners, getting a thoughtful response to a story note I'd given was impossible, because neither could speak for the other and could only promise to consult when next they met at the deathbed of whatever beloved person expired that week.

When I wondered aloud how any vehicle could negotiate this surface, my question was not understood

I could go anywhere in the house

Nobody could go into this room.

I thought it was murder, and I could not forget the five orange pips and the strange letters to my uncle and my father.

But in 1869 Uncle Elias, who belonged to this secret group, suddenly left America with all their papers, and so the group could not go on

If anyone could see me turn on the light to answer it, I suppose I would look like any other sleepy man annoyed at being disturbed

'Though of course my brother could have entered the factory through the laboratory

He wanted to be away from Paris but near skilled workmen who could build things for his experimental so I offered him one of the old workshops of the factory

I suppose the Air Ministry could tell you

The hammer was in its fully lowered position, and I saw that Andre's head and arm could only be a flattened mess.

But he could find no evidence and no motive.

I could imagine how eagerly he would question the boy.

What could be the reason for such a terrible crime? What had led up to it? Just exactly what had happened?

And that annoyed me, because I could find no satisfactory explanation for that particular fear.

He enjoyed life, had a good sense of humour, loved children and animals, and could not bear to see anyone suffer.

What, then, could have made him put his head under that hammer? There were only two possible explanations

She was allowed to go into the garden during certain hours of the day, and had been given a little square where she could grow flowers

All I could do was hope that those defences would continue to break down.

What else could it do but go to others it loves, to Henri, to you - you who might know and understand what needed to be done!'

He could see a time when there would be no aeroplanes, ships, trains or cars and, therefore, no roads or railway lines, ports, airports or stations

It was only after the accident that I discovered he had put a second set of the control switches inside the disintegration booth, so that he could use himself as the object of the experiment.

I had no doubt that Andre would kill himself unless I could make him change his mind

I screamed again and again but could not stop looking at him

Behind it I could hear the noise of Andre's typewriter

Trembling with fear and disgust, I crawled over to where I could read it without touching it.

'Ah, yes I heard that Madame Delambre had been writing a lot, but we could find nothing but the short note informing us that she was taking her own life.'

'Do you know,' said Griselda, 'I could have married a politician, a lord, a rich businessman, but instead I chose you? Didn't that surprise you?'

No woman could be happy with my husband

Low Farm was nearly two miles away and I could not possibly get back by six-fifteen

'What reason could Lawrence have for killing Colonel Protheroe?'

I could have answered that question, but I did not wish to involve Anne Protheroe

'You've never done one.' Before Griselda could reply, a shadow fell across the table, and a very gentle voice said, 'Please forgive me

Oh, could it have been...?' She stopped, pale with excitement.

As I entered the vicarage, I could hear voices

I could think of no answer to this.

'I wish you could solve the crime, Miss Marple,' Griselda said

'And Dr Haydock is certain that the murder could not have been committed at the time you say you did it

'How could I have thought for one minute that Anne did it? I met her in the studio that afternoon...' He paused.

I could see he was dead without touching him.'

'It was awful of me to think you could have killed...'

I would be very grateful if you could come and see me this afternoon

Before I could reply, the maid came in

'All I could think about was Anne-'

There's no other way he could have come.'

Lady indeed! That woman could push a knife into you without feeling anything.'

Strangely, I could imagine Mrs Lestrange doing that, but not blackmail.

'I feel that someone might have seen or heard something, and I wondered if you could help me?'

But she's upset, so please go and talk to her.' And she pushed me into the kitchen before I could argue.

'But this is the only place where Miss Cram could have hidden it

'Well, it seems to me that the only way this silver could be sold would be if it had been replaced by copies

And these pains in my head - could you give me a glass of water?'

The only difference I could see was that one was much dirtier than the others.

Perhaps you could come and see me this afternoon?

Please, dear Vicar, could you come to my house this afternoon and help me?

The third I could guess without reading it.

She had picked up the paper and read it before I could stop her

But this is about duty.' I could see that she was enjoying herself

I could, of course, choose sewing or drawing, but my hobby is Human Nature

Thought I'd just say hello and see if you could give me a drink.'

I read it once - twice - but I still could not believe what it said.

But before I could disagree there was an interruption

'So sorry, Colonel Melchett, but when I heard that Mr Hawes was ill, I felt I must come and see if I could do something.'

'We know everything that Redding was doing up to 6.50 and Dr Haydock says Protheroe could not have been shot then.'

'So that no one could discover what had happened?'

But he could not leave without telling Anne

Because it is hardly one seventh of the size of Earth, it cooled more quickly to the temperature at which life could begin

It seems to me almost unbelievably wonderful that, with that danger threatening us, people could continue their ordinary business as they did

An enormous hole had been made and the Earth had been thrown violently in every direction, forming piles that could be seen two kilometres away.

It was, however, still very hot from its flight through the air and he could not get close to it

He could hear movement from inside but thought this was due to it cooling down

But luckily the heat stopped him before he could get his hands on the metal

I think they understood that nothing could be done for the moment, and had gone away to have breakfast at Henderson's house

The head of the thing was rounded and had, one could say, a face

I could not take my eyes away from these creatures.

At the same time we could hear a faint sound, which changed into a long, loud humming noise

For a moment, perhaps, I could not clearly understand how I came there

I could not believe it.

I tried but could not tell them what I had seen

And all night the sound of hammering could be heard as the Martians worked on the machines they were making ready.

After some time I left them and went on to the railway station to get as many morning papers as I could

Then I realized that the Martians could hit the top of Maybury Hill with their Heat-Ray because they had cleared the college out of the way.

Then there was a great flash like daylight and this strange object could be seen clearly.

It was some time before I could get to my feet again and put on some dry clothes

I began to ask myself what they could be

I could not see his face

He suggested going towards London, where he could rejoin his company

I had already decided that the area around London would be the scene of a great battle before the Martians could be destroyed.

He made me find all the food and drink that we could carry, and we filled our pockets

Then we left the house and ran as quickly as we could down the narrow road

There was no great fear at this time, but already there were more people than all the boats could carry across the Thames

The stones under my feet were muddy and slippery, and the river was so low that I moved perhaps seven metres before I could get under the surface

I could hear people jumping off boats into the water.

I rushed through the water until I could see round the bend

Thick clouds of steam were pouring from the wreckage, and through it I could see its long legs and tentacles moving in the water.

A man, knee-deep in the water, shouted to me and pointed, although I could not hear what he said

At that moment I got under the water and, holding my breath until movement was painful, swam under the surface for as long as I could

He could not discover what kind of accident it was

Besides this, Londoners are very used to feeling safe, and exciting news is so normal in the papers that they could read reports like this without great fear:

My brother could get very little exact information out of them

My brother could not tell him.

He learned that they were not just a few small crawling creatures, but that they could control enormous mechanical bodies

They could move quickly and strike with such power that even the biggest guns could not stand against them

No doubt the Martians were very frightening, but there could not be more than twenty of them against our millions.

All down Wellington Street people could be seen reading the paper

Sunday clothes could be seen inside quickly fixing maps of Surrey to the shop window.

My brother spoke to several of the refugees but none could give him any news of Woking, except one man who said that it had been totally destroyed the previous night.

At about eight o'clock the sound of tiring could be heard clearly ail over the south of London

At the time we could not understand these things, but later I learnt the meaning of these frightening black hills

From there we could see the searchlights on Richmond Hill and Kingston Hill moving in the sky, and at about eleven the windows shook, and we heard the sound of the large guns that had been put in position there

Wherever there was a possibility of guns being hidden, they fired a cylinder of Black Smoke at them, and where the guns could be seen they used the Heat-Ray.

By midnight the burning trees along the slopes of Richmond Hill lit up clouds of Black Smoke which covered the whole valley of the Thames, and went as far as the eye could see.

But as soon as they were in the stream of vehicles, there was little they could do

They were taken through Barnet and were more than a kilometer beyond the centre of the town before they could fight their way across to the other side of the road.

If the Martians had only wanted destruction, they could have killed the whole population of London on Monday, as it moved out slowly through the neighboring countryside

After the sailors could no longer come up the Thames, they went to the towns on the Essex coast to take people onto their ships

Then, far away, another appeared, stepping over some small trees, and then another could be seen even further away, crossing the flat mud that lay between the sea and the sky.

To their minds, perhaps, no other machine could be as large as themselves

The warship could stilt turn and its engines worked

Everyone was shouting and they could hear shouts and cheers from the other ships and the boats

All this time the steamboat was moving steadily out to sea and away from the fight, and when at last the steam cleared, the black cloud got in the way and they could see nothing of either the Thunder Child or the third Martian

Nothing could be seen clearly

We could only wait and be bored during those two days.

As we passed other small towns, we found them unaffected by either Heat-Ray or Black Smoke, and there were some people alive, although none could give us news

For some time I could not remember what had happened.

We both sat in complete silence, so we could hardly hear each other breathing

Through the hole I could see the top of a tree, turned to gold by the evening sun

The fighting-machines were extraordinary, but could not compare to this building-machine

On Earth they could not move without effort, but even at the end of their time here they remained active

Down on the left a busy little digging-machine could be seen, sending out small clouds of green smoke and working its way round the pit, making it bigger and piling the earth up over the top

However, despite the danger, we could not prevent ourselves from going back to look again and again

At first I could see no reason for his behaviour

The Martians at the bottom of the pit could no longer be seen, because the earth around it was now so high

I could see the oily shine of its skin and the brightness of its eyes

That night, as we hid in the hall, I felt a great need to do something but could think of no plan of escape

The Martians had made such an impression on me that at first I did not think I could escape

I did not think that they could be defeated by human beings

I shook violently and could hardly stand straight

I could not stop myself - I moved to the door and looked back into the kitchen

In the darkness I could just see the thing moving towards me and examining the wall and the floor

I thought that if I could attract it in quietly, I would be able, perhaps, to kill and eat it

I could see in every direction except behind me and there were no Martians in sight.

When I reached the Thames, I drank as much water as I could

For the first time I began to think that there was some distance between his dreams and his powers, because I could dig a hole like this in a day

No Martians could be seen

The voice grew stronger and stronger, although I could see nothing above the roof-tops on the north side of the park except some smoke to the north-west.

It appeared to be standing and calling, for no reason that I could discover.

I could not go on

And all around it, some in their overturned war-machines and some in building-machines, and ten of them lying in a row, were the Martians - dead! They had been killed by germs against which their systems could not fight; killed, after all man's machines had failed, by the smallest things that God has put on this Earth.

Only the tops of the great engines, so unearthly in their shape, could be seen in the morning light

I remembered how I could not concentrate that morning, hardly a month before, and how I had stopped work to get my newspaper from the newsboy

In that case, the cylinder could be destroyed before it was cool enough for the Martians to come out, or they could be killed by guns as soon as the door opened

What link could there be between that creature and my wife?

'When I saw my wife again I told her that there could be no peace between us until she told me the truth

Her face was turned away from us when we entered the room, but we could see she was wearing a red dress and long white gloves

She just wishes she could sleep deep and only wake up on the day of her first car ride to work.

'Which of them could I marry?' said Mercy

Or I could make a date for you - with Joe!'

And I had to finish it before I could answer you, no?'

Things could be different

She could not discuss the whole business with Mercy, and James always took Mercy's side

Mercy left her new place before anybody could throw her out

Now things could return to normal

'I certainly could hear you

Beyond her, through the window, I could see Miss Fairlie walking in the moonlight.

I wanted to make the best marriage settlement I could in order to protect her interests, if Laura Fairlie dies, I wrote, 'the twenty thousand pounds will be left according to her will.' That evening, I sent the settlement to Sir Percival's lawyer.

Laura asked Sir Percival if I could, and he very kindly agreed

And her husband? What can I say of Count Fosco? He has certainly tamed his wife, and he looks like a man who could tame a tiger

When I ran away, he followed me, but I ran faster than he could

This afternoon, I wrote him a letter, asking if we could return to Limmeridge House.

There I could hear the voices of Sir Percival and the Count through the open windows.

I went to the house of the old parish clerk's son and asked if I could see his father's copy of the register for 1803

For a long time I had felt nothing but hatred for Sir Percival, but I could not watch as he burnt to death in the vestry

Perhaps he could escape through the window! I broke the glass, but then the flames jumped out of the open space.

Nobody could understand why Sir Percival had been in the vestry

Somehow they had caught fire, and Sir Percival could not get to the door.

Another time I wrote to Sir P to ask if I could go away for a few weeks

Mr Kyrle told us that if she could not remember what had happened to her, we had no hope of proving her identity.

I could now say goodbye to the ghostly figure who has haunted these pages as she haunted my life.

After a few minutes of intense thought, he sat down again and said, 'What I'm going to tell you now is a secret, and I could be killed for telling it to you

Sir Percival and the Count had spent all Laura's money, so we could not get it back, but the following year Mr Frederick Fairlie died, so Limmeridge House was Laura's

Women could not do well, she said, because of their bad education.

With real education, she said, women could be good wives and mothers, but also good workers in many jobs.

This kind of change could be good for all society.

People in Pakistan and around the world hoped that she could get better

She could not read or write, but she was very intelligent.

She is famous because she did not stand up! When Rosa was a young woman, in many places in the USA, black people - who were called "coloureds" at that time - and white people could not sit together.

This meant that the white people could sit down.

She was very intelligent and could read when she was three years old.

When she came back five years later, at twenty years old, she could speak good French and knew how to cook, but she also knew chemistry.

On 2nd July 1928, women were given equal voting rights with men they could vote at the age of twenty-one

For example, in France, married women could not work if their husbands did not agree to it

In the West, doctors could help women to choose how many children they had

When Nancy became an MP, women could only vote at the age of thirty.

She said to the BBC, "I wanted the world to get better, and I knew it could not get better if it was going to be ruled by men." Nancy was an MP until 1945.

In one test, the women were placed in special rooms with water where they could not hear anything or see anything

But the programme was stopped before the women could finish their last test

In these Games, there were more sports that women could take part in

Men decided who could be in which sports.

As a runner, she could do great things.

She showed everyone that a woman could be a housewife and still win gold medals! In 1999, Fanny Blankers-Koen was voted Female Athlete of the Century because of her four gold medals at the 1948 Games.

Fanny Blankers-Koen was one of the first women to show that women could also be great athletes

She asked her father what sport she could play

When she was twelve years old, she played at a tournament at the Los Angeles Tennis Club, but Billie Jean could not be in the group picture of young tennis players

Even he - a fifty-five-year-old man - could win against the best female players