The phrase "could be dampened" is grammatically correct and can be used in written English.
It is typically used to describe a possible scenario where something may be lessened or weakened in its intensity or effect. Example: The enthusiasm of the crowd could be dampened by the heavy rain that was forecasted for the outdoor event.
Prices could be dampened but other issues such as interest rates, the overall health of the economy, unemployment and wages will have an influence on prices over and above this change.
On the other hand, his inclination would be to tinker with the market design to see if such bubbles could be dampened or even eliminated, rather than to seek a new theory of economic behavior.
The Canadian banks' attraction to foreign predators or partners, meanwhile, could be dampened by other restrictions in the new law, including a ban on any shareholder's owning more than 20percentt of voting stock and a stipulation that two-thirds of a bank's directors must be Canadian residents.
Jim Josefson, an assistant professor of political science at Syracuse University, noted, "Democrats have historically gotten killed upstate," but added, "Giuliani is so associated with New York City that it is really possible to me that that could be dampened this time around".
Higher borrowing costs for the government mean higher interest rates for private borrowers too, so there is some risk that Japan's recent strong economic recovery could be dampened, or even choked off, if the bond market falls too far.Nevertheless, rising bond yields are on the whole a welcome sign, given Japan's dismal economic performance over the past 14 years.
Yet, the rats still reacted to truly painful stimuli, a response that could be dampened with morphine.
If you have been wearing socks all day and your feet get sweaty, the sweat in your socks could be dampening your feet and making them cool.
Months after 3/11, as the catastrophic events of this spring have come to be called, it is clear that the Harajuku spirit couldn't be dampened by a 9.0 magnitude earthquake, a tsunami or the threat of nuclear meltdown - such is the resilience of Tokyo street style.
And despite patches of rain, which turned parts of the venue's outside areas into a soggy bog, the overall genial, celebratory atmosphere could not be dampened, especially when the sun eventually came out.
Recoil will be dampened considerably.
The Nationals' stonewalling response has looked at times clumsy, says James. "The story could have been dampened by applying the three Fs of public relations: the second two Fs are 'front up' and 'fess up'.
