In this mini episode, you will learn the “might well” construction.
Episode 283 of the Everybody ESL podcast is a mini episode that teaches you the “might well” construction. Send your questions about English and your suggestions for future episodes to EverybodyESL@gmail.com! (And let me know if you’d like to record the introduction to a future episode.)
Intro
“Hello, everyone! This is Mia, from South Korea. You are listening to Everybody ESL.”
Welcome to episode 283 of Everybody ESL, the podcast for everybody who wants to improve their English, practice their English, or just learn more English. My name is Ben, and I have a mini episode for you today, where I am going to teach you about one English topic. You can subscribe to the Everybody ESL podcast at Apple podcasts, on the Stitcher app, and wherever you find your podcasts. If you like Everybody ESL, leave it a good review so other people can find out about it too. And if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions for me, please send an email to everybodyESL@gmail.com. Okay! Let’s get on with this mini episode.
The episode
In this episode, I am going to teach you a way to say that you think something will happen, or a way to say that you think there is a good chance that something will happen.
One way that we do this is by using the expression “might well.” Might well. This is just the word might—m-i-g-h-t—and the word well—w-e-l-l. Might well.
I’m sure that you have seen the word might before. We use might to say that something is possible, something has a chance of happening.
“According to the weather report, it might rain tomorrow.” According to the weather report, it might rain tomorrow. In other words, according to the weather report, there is a chance of rain tomorrow. Will it rain tomorrow? Maybe. It might.
Now, “might well” means something stronger than might. “Might well” is not for situations that will maybe happen. “Might well” is for things that you think will probably happen, things that have a very good chance of happening. Or things that you think have a very good chance of happening.
Let me give you an example of a situation where someone could use the expression “might well.”
“This new movie has two of your favorite actors in it, so you might well enjoy it.”
This means “Because this movie has two of your favorite actors in it, I think it is very likely that you will enjoy it. I think there is a very good chance that you will enjoy it.”
It’s more than maybe. I’m not saying maybe you will enjoy it, or you might enjoy it. I’m saying I think you probably will enjoy it. You might well enjoy it. “I think that will probably happen.” That’s what I’m saying when I use this “might well” construction.
And that is the “might well” construction, a good way to express your confidence that something will probably happen or that there is a good chance that something will happen.
Outro
This is the end of episode 283 of Everybody ESL. Remember: if you have questions about English, or if you have comments or suggestions for me, or if you would like to record an introduction that I can play at the beginning of future episodes—the same way Mia recorded the introduction you heard at the beginning of this episode—send an email to everybodyESL@gmail.com. I’ll be back soon with a new episode, and until then, keep going, keep practicing, and keep learning. I’ll see you soon. Goodbye!