단순히 사전상 의미만 알면 제대로 쓰기 힘든 might as well, 구슬쌤이 원어민처럼 쉽게 쓸 수 있도록 정확한 뉘앙스와 현실적인 활용법 10개를 정리해 주셨습니다. 평소 쓸 법만한 문장 2-3개 정도는 꼭 외워서 실전영어에서도 확실히 써 보아요.
might as well: (어차피/기왕 이렇게 된거) ~하는 것이 좋다/그냥 ~나 해야겠다, (차라리)~하는 편이 낫다
1. I might as well get some work done. 2. I might as well just have cereal. 3. You might as well go get a new one. 4. I might as well order extra to get free shipping. 5. We might as well get our money's worth. 6. I might as well get something out of it. 7. We might as well use this time to go over the pitch. 8. If we don't do it the right way, we might as well not do it at all. 9. We might as well get started. 10. You might as well go for it.
◈ might as well - Oxford 사전: used to make an unenthusiastic suggestion - Collins 사전: you mean that you will do it although you do not have a strong desire to do it and may even feel slightly unwilling to do it.
주어진 상황에서 최선의 선택일 때 might as well (어차피/기왕 이렇게 된거) ~하는 것이 좋다 (그냥) ~나 해야겠다, (차라리)~하는 편이 낫다
1. 어차피 할 것도 없는데 영어 공부나 해야겠다 I was gonna sleep in, but now that I'm up, I might as well do some studying.
I might as well get some work done. 일이나 좀 해야겠다.
<지금 잠이나 자둬야겠다> I might as well get some sleep now.
2. 어차피 이렇게 된거 저녁을 안 먹는게 낫겠다 It's too late, so I might as well skip dinner.
I might as well just have cereal. 그냥 씨리얼이나 먹어야겠다
<커피나 마시죠, 뭐> Might as well have a cup of coffee.
3. 어차피 그 가격 주고 고칠 거면 새것 사는 게 나을 거 같아 You might as well go get a new one.
But at that price, you might as well go get a new one.
*tech-savvy: 특히 컴퓨터를 잘 다루거나 새로운 기술에 해박한 You might as well wait till ?November and get an iPhone 10.
4. 어차피 배송비 낼 바에야 더 사는 게 나을 때 I might as well order extra to get free shipping. -an extra는 하나 더 추가로 주문
<'꽁돈'이나 다름 없는데 그냥 써버리죠, 뭐> I might as well spend it. It's basically free money.
5. 기왕 이렇게 된거(왔으니) 본전이라도 뽑자 Well, we're here now. We might as well get our money's worth.
So you might as well get your money's worth.
6. 어차피 여기에 온 거 뭐라도 얻어가야겠다 I hate seminars, but now that I'm here, I might as well get something out of it.
I might as well get something out of it.
<어차피 왔으니 도와드릴게요> Well, I'm here. Might as well make yourself useful.
7. 미팅이 미뤄진 김에 할 말 검토하자 A: The meeting got pushed back to 4. B: Then we might as well use this time to go over the pitch/talking points.
You might as well use that time wisely.
8. 제대로 안 할거면 아예 안 하는 게 낫다 If we don't do it the right way, we might as well not do it at all.
<우리끼리 갈 바에야 안 가는 게 나아요> If we show up without you, we may as well not show up at all. -may를 써도 돼요.
9. 어쩔수 없이 하는 상황일 때 You might as well get started.
<(어차피 해야할 거) 후딱 하고 끝내버리지, 뭐> I might as well get it over with.
<미팅에 사람들이 다 오지 않았지만, 다뤄야 할 내용도 많아서 마냥 기다릴 수만은 없을 때> We have a lot to cover, so we might as well get started.
I might as well get started because I got a lot to cover.
*last but not least: 마지막으로, 그렇지만 앞서 말씀드린 것들과 마찬가지로 중요한
10. 어차피 잃을 것도 없으니 그냥 해봐 You might as well go for it. I mean, you have nothing to lose.
<어차피 곧 떠나니 그냥 용기내 고백해봐> She's leaving soon, so it's over anyways. You might as well go for it.
<짐캐리 연설> You can fail at what you don’t want, so you might as well take a chance on doing what you love. 하고 싶지 않은 일을 하면서도 실패할 수 있다. 그러니 좋아하는 일을 해보는 것이 낫다.