Might as well

Question

Hello....[might as well have pp] is not easy to clearly understand.And also, grammar books usually don't say anything about it.So, I tried to make it more understandable.Is it possible to understand it in two types as below?Or is there only one type?[ guessing on past events ]- What was that noise?- It might as well have been a cat. - The gang in that movie died in a traffic accident.- It might as well have been a suicide. The gang was being chased to the end of the world.[expressing regrets, alternative options]Honestly, you might as well have told me!  See you two fighting, I might as well have stayed home.

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

pructus[might as well have pp] is not easy to clearly understand.

It's the "past" of [might as well inf].

Your brother might as well come in. [now]
Your brother might as well have come in. [at that time]

All the shops are closed; we might as well go back to the hotel. [now]
All the shops were closed; we might as well have gone back to the hotel. [at that time]

You might as well leave; there's nothing interesting happening here. [now]
You might as well have left; there was nothing interesting happening there. [at that time]
________

The paraphrases can be something like this:

There is no point in having your brother stay outside; it would be just as sensible for him to come in.
There was no point in having your brother stay outside; it would have been just as sensible for him to (have) come in.

________

Of those you offered above, these are the ones that fit the meaning best:

It might as well have been a suicide. (It would have been equally sensible/logical to call it suicide.)
Seeing you two fighting, I might as well have stayed home. (It would have been just as reasonable for me to have stayed at home.)

The others, not so much. In speaking of a noise, for example, you have It might as well have been a cat. That paraphrases to something like There was no point for the noise not to be a cat; it would have been just as sensible for the noise to be a cat. Given that noises have no choice about what causes them, doesn't that strike you as a strange thing to say?

CJ

Pructus · Answer

Your explanations are so crystal clear....

Thanks so much, CJ!!

Might as well

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