He could not afford to buy a house...是什么意思？

He could not afford to buy a house...

他买不起房子。

he

pron. 他，它，一个人；n. 雄性动物；

例句
Logic had prevailed and he had abandoned the idea.
最终理智占了上风，他打消了那个念头。

could

aux. “can”的过去式，能够，打算，用于假设语气的条件句，用于虚拟语气的结论句；

例句
The regulations were relaxed and the prisoners could get out and about a bit.
规定有所放宽，犯人可以出去短暂放风。

not

adv. 不，[用以表示否定、否认、拒绝、禁止等]不是，几乎不，未必，没有[用于否定后面的词或短语]；

例句
It became very clear that the incident was not just an aberration, it was not just a single incident.
事实已经很清楚，这件事不是偶发的，它并不是一起孤立的事件。

afford

vt. 买得起，担负得起，提供，给予；

例句
My parents can't even afford a new refrigerator...
我父母甚至买不起一台新冰箱。

to

prep. 向，朝着，到，关于，属于；adv. 朝一个方向的，到某种状态，关闭；

例句
I suggest you leave it to an expert...
我建议你把它留给专家来解决。

buy

vt.& vi. 购买，购得；n. 交易，买卖，便宜货；vt. 够支付，买通，收买，贿赂；

例句
I intend to take full advantage of this trip to buy the things we need.
我打算充分利用这次旅行来购买我们所需的物品。

house

n. 房屋，全家人，（从事某种生意的）公司，（英国）下议院；v. 给…提供住房，收藏，安置；

例句
He was born in 1768 in the house abutting our hotel.
他于1768年出生于我们旅馆旁边的一幢房子里。