(1) ①may well(do) 意思是“有很好的理由(做某事);完全能(做某事);满可以(做某事)”。
- You may well say so.
你完全可以这样说。 - Well may/might you be surprised!
你当然会感到惊讶!
②may well还表示“很可能”之意。
- The team may well have won the football match, but I don't know because I wasn't there.
该队可能赢了足球比赛,但我不知道,因为我不在场。 - The boy has grown so tall that you may well not recognize him.
这个男孩长得那么高,你很可能认不出他来了。
(2) may as well (do)意为“不妨……;……也不错;还是……的好”。
- We may as well stay where we are.
我们不妨待在这儿。 - All the pubs are closing — we may as well go home.
所有酒馆都在关门了,我们不妨回家吧。
(3) might as well(do)也常用来把一个不愉快的情况跟另一个相比,可以用于现在,也可以用于过去。用于现在情况时,语气比用may as well委婉。
- This holiday isn't much fun — we might as well be back home.
这个假期没多大意思——我们还不如回家去。 - Perhaps we might as well get round the table .
也许我们还是在饭桌旁坐下为好。 - You never listen — I might as well talk to a brick wall.
你从来不听,我还不如跟砖墙说话。
(4) may as well...as...意思是“……就与……一样”。
- You may as well call a cat a little tiger as call a tiger a big cat.
你可以称猫为小老虎,就像你可以称老虎为大猫一样。
(5) might as well...as...意思是“就像不可以……的一样,也不可以……;不可以……,同样也不可以……”。
- You might as well advise him to give up his fortune as his argument.
你劝他停止他的辩论,倒不如劝他放弃他的财产呢。(言下之意是不可能办到) - You might as well reason with a wolf as try to persuade that man.
你想说服那个人,还不如跟一头狼去论理呢。
*此结构中的might是虚拟形式,同may一样可以指现在。