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As well (as)

As well (as) meaning ‘in addition’​

As well is an adverb which means ‘also’, ‘too’ or ‘in addition’. We usually use as well at the end of a clause:

  • We look forward very much to seeing you again and to meeting your wife as well.

As well as is a multi-word preposition which means ‘in addition to’:

  • She has invited Jill as well as Kate.
  • When they go to Austria, they like walking as well as skiing.

Might as well and may as well​

We use might as well and may as well informally to mean that something is worth doing only because other things are not happening. Might as well is more common:

  • I might as well paint the bedroom myself; no one else is going to do it.
  • We may as well go out tonight because there’s not much on TV.

As well​

We use as well and the phrase just as well when we say that something is probably a good thing:

  • It’s as well to have a good camera with you when you visit the bird park. (as well here means ‘it’s a good idea’)
  • It’s just as well we didn’t go to the lecture, because it was cancelled.
See also
  • Also, as well or too?
  • May
  • Might