Example sentences of "[modal v] not afford [prep] be [adj] " in BNC.
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| 1 | ‘ The national interest ’ was also a rebuff to congressmen , who could not afford to be critical of it , even when they already knew it as grounds to keep them in the dark . |
| 2 | Javier de la Puerta , chief spokesman for the World Fair , said the recent blows to ETA were ‘ very good news ’ but added that Expo organisers could not afford to be complacent . |
| 3 | But no , but I ca n't could n't afford to be rude to him , I 've only just joined the choir . |
| 4 | But she could n't afford to be angry — or to offend him again , she realised , and took a deep and calming breath . |
| 5 | Never mind the title , you ca n't afford to be reckless in this brain-bending game . |
| 6 | He said : ‘ I ca n't afford to be emotional about it all and stay on a high . |
| 7 | You ca n't afford to be cheap and cheerful when it comes to your handbag … |
| 8 | you ca n't afford to be ill in America , I tell you what |
| 9 | A very young man has shot himself and ‘ we ’ ride off in an inquisitive Gadarene ‘ cavalcade ’ ( ‘ our ladies had never seen a suicide ’ ) to view the corpse ; ‘ everything 's so boring ’ — recall Marya Lebyadkin 's words — ‘ one ca n't afford to be squeamish about one 's amusements so long as they are fun ’ ; and Lyamshin , the man who gets himself asked to parties to mimic women in labour , new-born babies , and peasants in the confessional , steals a bunch of grapes from the room of death . |
| 10 | ‘ I 've got to be patient with players in the side but I ca n't afford to be patient for too long . ’ |
| 11 | Living where they do , mountain goats can not afford to be fussy about what they eat . |
| 12 | It is widely accepted that one of the main factors contributing to the relative decline and adverse trading position of the British economy is a shortfall of investment in private industry , and socialists can not afford to be indifferent to this since the employment prospects and livelihood of millions of workers are at stake . |
| 13 | I am worried that many students may convert to being part time rather than full time , simply because they can not afford to be full-time students . |
| 14 | Northern Ireland companies have been successful in the area of export development but they can not afford to be complacent about what lies ahead . |
| 15 | After having amassed around 200 hours on the Corsair since purchasing it in 1982 , the novelty of flying this beast has not diminished : ‘ Today I feel that every flight in the Corsair is as exciting as the first , mainly because with the Corsair you can not afford to be complacent , as the aircraft will sometimes bite back , so I have to be alert all the time while I am flying ’ . |
| 16 | We can not afford to be complacent , but I do not believe complacency is in the vocabulary of any one of you . |
| 17 | The international community can not afford to be complacent , assuming that if the United Nations peacekeeping force is there that everything will go according to plan . |
| 18 | ‘ I , above all others , can not afford to be ill . |
| 19 | Finally , look after your health — if you are really going to the top enormous demands are going to be made on your time and strength and you can not afford to be careless . ’ |
| 20 | But with the tax collectors anxious to get their hands on every ha'penny , the Chancellor can not afford to be generous . |
| 21 | Under-fives workers can not afford to be concerned solely with so-called ‘ professional ’ issues . |
| 22 | At the level of parliament , the news media and opinion poll data , management of the national economy has been the dominant issue in British politics for much of the post-war period and however important it is for socialists to insist that ‘ the political ’ be given a broader definition , they can not afford to be silent on so important a concern . |
| 23 | Nevertheless , sport can not afford to be soft on those who cause the problems — whether it is athletes who , as drug users , habitually cheat , or the spectators who take the law into their own hands and invade football pitches . |