"Might as well..."

Question

Ok, tengo otra frase:

Acabo sentarme en una silla dura. Miro alrededor and veo que hay sillas blandas también. Bueno - me digo - I might as well sentarme en una silla blanda.

Is there a good phrase for this in Spanish? If not, what's the best translation for "might as well"?

Thanks,

Lezipo

Good question. - h1deaway, MAR 29, 2010

Answer 1

I wonder if you might try something like

• más vale que me sienta...

• ¿De qué me sirve no sentirme en una silla blanda?

Answer 2

I would probably use: Por qué no...

Answer 3

"También podría sentarme en una silla blanda"

Answer 4

I like the Spanish versions offered by Izanoni & Moe but they are not (in a sense) literal translations. The main problem is that the English does not really mean what it says. The "as well" ought (strictly) to mean that both options are equally acceptable. Whereas, in fact, we normally use the phrase to mean "I would have done better had I ..." Contrariwise, the Spanish phrases actually mean what they say.

Answer 5

In my very big dictionary of Span to Eng & Eng to Span (Collins 7th Edition, 2003), I found this entry:

"You might as well...." = "Más valdriá..."

This uses the 3rd person singular in the conditional tense of the verb "valer". As I understand the conditional tense in Spanish, it is used to express what "would" happen in the future. It is more of a possibility, or hypothetical situation,

To say "I might as well" which is 1st person, seems to be the same conjugation, "Más valdriá."

Mejor recuerdos/Best regards,

Moe