"Afford to do sth" 是一个英语短语,意为“有能力做某事”,“负担得起做某事”。这里的“afford”主要指的是经济上的能力,但也可以扩展到时间、精力等其他资源。这个短语通常用来描述一个人或一个组织是否有足够的资源(如金钱、时间)来承担或完成某项活动或购买某物。

## 用法

1. **基本用法**:当表示“有经济能力购买”时,例如:

   - "I can afford to buy a new car."(我买得起一辆新车。)

2. **能力上的局限**:用于表达在时间和精力上的局限,例如:

   - "She can't afford to spend more time on this project."(她没有更多的时间投入到这个项目中。)

3. **假设条件**:在if引导的条件句中,表示如果能负担得起,例如:

   - "If I could afford to travel, I'd visit Europe every year."(如果我能负担得起旅行的费用,我会每年都去欧洲旅游。)

4. **否定形式**:表示无法负担,例如:

   - "We can't afford to make any mistakes in this situation."(在这种情况下,我们犯不起任何错误。)

5. **疑问句**:用于询问对方是否有能力做某事,例如:

   - "Can you afford to pay for the rent this month?"(这个月你能付得起房租吗?)

## 例句

1. He has saved enough money to afford a vacation in Hawaii. (他存了足够的钱去夏威夷度假。)

2. With her busy schedule, she can barely afford to take a day off. (由于她的日程安排得很满,几乎没有时间休息一天。)

3. The company can't afford to hire additional staff at the moment. (公司目前负担不起雇佣更多员工的费用。)

4. Can you afford to miss such an important opportunity? (你能错过这样一个重要的机会吗?)

5. They decided not to buy the house as they couldn't afford the mortgage. (他们决定不买那房子,因为负担不起抵押贷款。)

## 同义词辨析

- **Be able to do sth**: 这个短语强调的是能力,不一定是经济能力,可以是任何类型的能力。例如:"I am able to swim across the river."(我能够游过这条河。)

  

- **Have the means to do sth**: 强调拥有达到某个目的的手段或资源。例如:"They have the means to provide their children with a good education."(他们有办法给孩子们提供良好的教育。)

- **Be capable of doing sth**: 与"be able to"类似,强调一般性的能力,不涉及经济因素。例如:"The machine is capable of printing 100 pages per minute."(这台机器每分钟能打印100页。)

- **Have the wherewithal to do sth**: 这个短语更正式,表示有必要的资源或手段来完成某事。例如:"Without the wherewithal to invest, the startup couldn't expand its operations."(没有投资的资金,这家初创公司无法扩大业务。)