The phrase "afraid it could be" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used when expressing concern or apprehension about a potential situation or outcome.
Example: "I'm afraid it could be too late to change our plans now."
Alternatives: "worried it might be" or "concerned it could be".
WHEN Akio Morita, Sony's co-founder, gave the firm its name in the 1950s, he was afraid it could be mispronounced in Japanese as "son-en", which means "to lose yen".
Now I'm afraid it could be a bit too late".
"Anything that changes the balance of what's available right now, we're afraid it could be disastrous for our community".
"Without a functioning parliament and without a prime minister, I'm afraid it could be a tumultuous time in January," Deibert said in a phone interview from Cap-Haitien.
If you haven't seen it, Locog has produced an extremely informative list of things that you won't be allowed to bring into the games venues (if you're a patriotic, big hat-wearing, vuvuzela-blowing, phone-jammer packing, flick knife-carrying type who's fond of a drink, I'm afraid it could be bad news).
But we are still happy - because people are afraid it could be worse.
But then I was afraid that it could be seen through the light cotton material, so I went downstairs and into the back parlor and hid it between the pages of "I Promessi Sposi".
Not only did it break all of Gaza's lax zoning laws, but its owner was known to be a Hamas sympathizer: each day I have been afraid that it could be one of Israel's bombing targets.
"But we are afraid that it could be a problem in the future if it happens on a large scale, especially if the buyers are from countries like China where they're making high quality wines and could produce enormous quantities".
And this points to China's bigger concern about THAAD: They're afraid that it could be used as part of a larger regional missile defense network, potentially neutralizing their nuclear deterrent.
He's afraid that next time it could be him".
