"might just as well have drowned"

[tufguy]

We raised a bumper crop, bought feed cattle and fattened them with our corn. But the floods might just as well have drowned our corn that year, for the price of fat cattle fell on the Chicago market.

This is a paragraph from the book How To stop Worrying And Start Living by Dale Carnegie.

Shouldn't this line "might just as well have drowned" have been written as "would just as well have drowned"? Because "might and may have done" is used for things that probably happened in the past for example.

1) Mike may have seen the murderer so he needs to give us his description.
2) John might have run the cat over while reversing the car.
3) Jade must have had a fight with Jim last night and this is the reason she left this morning.

And we use would have done for something that didn't actually happened like.

1) I wouldn't have made it out alive if it hadn't been for Jane.
2) we would have still been in debt even if rain hadn't destroyed our crops.
3) I would have gone to see John had I been told he was hospitalised.

Can "may and might have done" be used instead of "would have done without any change in the meaning? I am a bit confused about this. Are these interchangeable?

 

[Piscean]

Shouldn't this line "might just as well have drowned" have been written as "would just as well have drowned"?

No.

Because "might and may have done" is used for things that probably happened in the past for example.

No. They are used for possible happenings.

1) Mike may have seen the murderer so he needs to give us his description.
2) John might have run the cat over while reversing the car.

Where did you find these sentences?

3) Jade must have had a fight with Jim last night and this is the reason she left this morning.

That's using 'must', not 'may/might'.

And we use "would have done" for something that didn't actually happened

Can "may and might have done" be used instead of "would have done" without any change in the meaning?

No.

I am a bit confused about this.

That's because you are ignoring the "just as well" part of the construction.

See might as well.

 

[tufguy]

No.

No. They are used for possible happenings.

Where did you find these sentences?

That's using 'must', not 'may/might'.



No.

That's because you are ignoring the "just as well" part of the construction.

See might as well.

Is "as well" used with "might" only?

 

[Tarheel]

Is "as well" used with "might" only?

You can say "may as well". Is that what you're asking about?

I don't know why you have to ask so many questions in the same post. Is there some kind of urgency about it? Is there a reason you can't wait for one question to be dealt with before you ask another one?

 

[tufguy]

You can say "may as well". Is that what you're asking about?

I don't know why you have to ask so many questions in the same post. Is there some kind of urgency about it? Is there a reason you can't wait for one question to be dealt with before you ask another one?