verb phrase · neutral
afford to buy
UK/əˈfɔːd tə ˈbaɪ/US/əˈfɔrd tə ˈbaɪ/af·FORD·to·BUY
Band 5-6speakingtask2
to have enough money to be able to purchase something
Examples
“I can't afford to buy a new laptop right now.”
“They saved for years so they could afford to buy a house.”
“Many students can't afford to buy textbooks every semester.”
Band 8 sentence
“Given current prices, many graduates find it difficult to afford to buy their first home without family support.”
Collocations
- cannot afford to buy
- barely afford to buy
Word family
affordable adjectiveaffordability noun
Common mistakes
afford buy→afford to buy
can afford to buyed→can afford to buy
Say it for a higher band
5afford buy→6be able to buy→7+afford to buy
Synonyms
be able to afford
Easily confused
affordable
“That apartment is not affordable for most young professionals.”
Related words
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In Shopping & Money
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