afford
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English 5++LDOCE 5++af·ford /əˈfɔːd $ -ɔːrd/ ●●● S1 W3 verb [transitive] 1 can/could afford [usually negative] a) PAY FORto have enough money to buy or pay for something 买得起afford (to do) something We can’t afford to go on vacation this year. 今年我们没钱去度假。 I couldn’t afford the rent on my own. 我单靠自己付不起房租。 How can she afford to eat out every night? 每天晚上下馆子她怎么能负担得起？ b) TIME/HAVE TIMEto have enough time to do something 抽得出〔时间〕 Dad can’t afford any more time off work. 爸爸没有办法再请假了。 c) CANif you cannot afford to do something, you must not do it because it could cause serious problems for you 承担得起afford to do something We can’t afford to wait any longer or we’ll miss the plane. 我们再也不能等下去了，否则会赶不上飞机的。5 ► Afford can be followed by an infinitive with to , but not an ‘-ing’ form: I can’t afford to buy (NOT can’t afford buying) a car. Afford 之后可以接带 to 的不定式，但是不能接 ‘-ing’ 形式: I can’t afford to buy (不说 can’t afford buying) a car. 我买不起汽车。n GrammarAfford is followed by an infinitive with ‘to’: I can’t afford to buy a car. ✗Don’t say: can’t afford buying | can’t afford buy2 formalPROVIDE to provide something or allow something to happen 提供，给予 The room affords a beautiful view over the city. 这房间可以俯瞰城市美景。afford (somebody) an opportunity/chance It afforded her the opportunity to improve her tennis skills. 这给了她提高网球水平的机会。 The new law will afford protection to employees. 新法律将为雇员提供保障。5 —affordableadj affordable housing负担得起的住房→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
afford• Filling in the two charts on page 32 gives the best indication of what you can afford.• It is successful because it produces a high quality product on time at a price the customer can afford.• My parents used to say that their son would have the best education they could afford.• The window affords a beautiful view out over the city.• Helena doesn't feel she can afford any more time away from work.• Fortunately Joe's can afford for me to use chemicals and paper as I like.• No show can afford that kind of scandal, particularly a brand-new one, hungry for the ratings.• Many smaller companies simply can not afford to buy health insurance for employees and remain in business.• The School Board next week is expected to meet in executive session and determine how much it can afford to offer.afford protection• Assists in maintaining proper bowel function and affords protection against diverticulosis, haemorrhoids and varicose veins.Origin afford Old English geforthian “to carry out”, from forthaf·ford verb →n GRAMMAR1LDOCE OnlineChineseSyllable
buy pay to enough or for Corpus something to have money
afford
af‧ford S1 W3 /əˈfɔːd $ -ɔːrd/
verb [transitive]
a. to have enough money to buy or pay for something
afford (to do) something
We can’t afford to go on vacation this year.
I couldn’t afford the rent on my own.
How can she afford to eat out every night?
b. to have enough time to do something:
Dad can’t afford any more time off work.
c. if you cannot afford to do something, you must not do it because it could cause serious problems for you
afford to do something
We can’t afford to wait any longer or we’ll miss the plane.
► Afford can be followed by an infinitive with to, but not an ‘-ing’ form: I can’t afford to buy (NOT can’t afford buying) a car.
2. formal to provide something or allow something to happen:
The room affords a beautiful view over the city.
afford (somebody) an opportunity/chance
It afforded her the opportunity to improve her tennis skills.
The new law will afford protection to employees.
—affordable adjective:
affordable housing
af‧ford S1 W3 /əˈfɔːd $ -ɔːrd/
verb [transitive] Language: Old English
Origin: geforthian 'to carry out', from forth
1. can/could afford [usually negative]Origin: geforthian 'to carry out', from forth
a. to have enough money to buy or pay for something
afford (to do) something
b. to have enough time to do something:
c. if you cannot afford to do something, you must not do it because it could cause serious problems for you
afford to do something
► Afford can be followed by an infinitive with to, but not an ‘-ing’ form: I can’t afford to buy (NOT can’t afford buying) a car.
2. formal to provide something or allow something to happen:
afford (somebody) an opportunity/chance
—affordable adjective:
cheap costing little money or less money than you expected; charging low prices 指花钱少、便宜、收费低廉 NOTE Cheap can also be used in a disapproving way to suggest that sth is poor quality as well as low in price.* cheap 亦可作贬义，指价低质劣 ：◆ a bottle of cheap perfume 一瓶低价劣质香水 competitive (of prices, goods or services) as cheap as or cheaper than those offered by other companies; able to offer goods or services at competitive prices 指价格、产品或服务收费方面具有竞争力 budget [ （尤用于广告）指仅提供基本服务因而价格低廉 affordable cheap enough for most people to afford 指多数人买得起或负担得来的 reasonable (of prices) not too expensive 指价格不太高、公道的 inexpensive ( cheaprather
指不昂贵 NOTE Inexpensive is often used to mean that sth is good value for its price. It is sometimes used instead ofcheap , becausecheap can suggest that sth is poor quality.* inexpensive 常含物有所值之义，有时用以代替 cheap，因为 cheap 可有质量低劣的含义。
Patterns
cheap/competitive/budget/affordable/reasonable prices/fares/rates cheap/competitive/budget/affordable/inexpensive products/services