Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 84 – General English vs Legal English 2

General English vs Legal English 2
Transcript:
Hello!
Here is part 2 of General English vs Legal English.
As mentioned in Part 1, Legal English often differs from general English in the meanings and the plural forms of some words. Here are a few key concepts which you should be aware of.
7. Child vs. Children vs. Issue
General English:
Child means a single offspring (prole); children is the plural..
“Susan has one child while John has two children“.
“The child was playing in the garden“.
“The children were playing in the garden“.
Legal English:
Issue refers to all direct descendants (discendenti diretti), e.g., children, grandchildren. Please note that issue is usually treated as uncountable when referring to issue as a group or class, so we say
“The issue of the deceased is entitled to the estate (asse ereditario)“.
“If no issue exists, the estate passes to the next of kin (parente più prossimo)“.
However, when emphasising individual descendants rather than the group as a whole, it can take a plural verb in legal contexts:
“The issue are listed as beneficiaries in the will“.
8. Document vs. Instrument
General English:
Document refers to any written or printed material.
“The document is on the table“.
“Please sign this document before submitting it“.
Legal English:
Instrument refers to a legal document that creates or alters rights.
“The deed is a formal legal instrument used to transfer ownership“.
“A deed of Sale is an essential legal instrument“.
9. Act vs. Acts
General English:
Act refers to a deed or event.
“Her act of kindness was appreciated“.
“He put on a great act during the play (Ha messo in scena un grande numero durante la recita)“.
Legal English:
Act refers to a statute (norma di legge), and Acts refers to multiple laws.
“The Privacy Act protects personal data“.
“The Acts of Parliament govern this matter“.
10. Trust vs. Trusts
General English:
Trust refers to confidence or reliance.
“I trust her judgment“.
“Building trust takes time“.
Legal English:
Trust refers to a legal arrangement where property is held for another’s benefit. Trusts refers to multiple such arrangements.
“The property was placed in a trust for the children“.
“The attorney manages several trusts for wealthy clients“.
11. Will vs. Shall
General English:
Will and shall are used to express future intentions, or in conditional sentences.
“I will meet you at the park tomorrow“.
“If I see Tom, I will tell him“.
Legal English:
Shall conveys (trasmette) an obligation or duty, often creating a legally enforceable requirement (requisito legalmente vincolante).
Will is generally not used but may be used to state a future fact or action without imposing a legal duty.
“The tenant (‘inquilino) shall pay the rent on the first of each month“.
“Notice shall be sent to the following address:…“.
12. Consideration
General English:
Consideration means careful thought.
“After much consideration, I accepted the job“.
“The proposal is under consideration”.
Legal English:
Consideration (sinalagma; più o meno controprestazione) refers to something of value exchanged to form a valid contract.
“A contract must include consideration to be enforceable“.
“The buyer’s payment served as consideration for the seller’s promise“.
Thank you very much, and see you next time for more Peter’s Pills to improve your legal English.
See more about countable and uncountable nouns here: “Grammar and Mechanics – Using Countable and Uncountable Nounss” (.PDF).

Legal English – Sommario delle Lezioni
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Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 84 – General English vs Legal English 2
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Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 83 – General English vs Legal English 1
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Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 82 – Next of kin
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Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 81 – File, Register and Enrol
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Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 80 – Securities
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Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 79 – Legatee vs Devisee
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Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 78 – Adverse possession
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Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 77 – Probate
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Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 76 – File a deed vs Record a deed
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Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 75 – Allotting shares, Issuing shares and Placing shares
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Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 74 – Personal Representatives
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Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 73 – Essential Elements of a Contract
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Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 72 – Types of cases: Cornerstone and Milestone cases
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Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 71 – Types of cases: Landmark cases
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Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 70 – Specific performance
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Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 69 – Wills
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Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 68 – Notice
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Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 67 – Bonds vs Debentures
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Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 66 – Person Persons People
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Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 65 – Financial Reporting Words
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Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 64 – Representations and Warranties
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Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 63 – Machine translations
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Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 62 – Legal Timelines
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Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 61 – Liens
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Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 60 – Test your Legal English
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Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 59 – Appurtenent vs In gross
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Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 58 – Building societies and Banks
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Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 57 – Valid, void and voidable contracts
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Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 56 – Rescission
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Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 55 – Golden expressions
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Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 54 – Pre-emption right vs Right of first refusal
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Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 53 – What do we mean by “agent” of a company?
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Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 52 – Voting at a meeting
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Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 51 – Contracts vs Deeds
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Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 50 – Executive and Non-Executive Directors
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Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 49 – Transfer of shares vs transmission of shares
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Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 48 – They, them, their for singular nouns
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Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 47 – Jointly and severally
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Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 46 – Invoice words
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Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 45 – Quotation
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Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 44 – Gazumping and Gazundering
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Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 43 – English words that the English do not understand
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Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 42 – Easement vs Profit à prendre
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Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 41 – er, -or and -ee names
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Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 40 – The Objects Clause
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Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 39 – When is Latin hot, and when is it not?
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Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 38 – Default
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Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 37 – Company Agent
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Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 36 – Injunction (false freind)
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Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 35 – Mortgage
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Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 34 – Freehold, Leasehold and Commonhold estates
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Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 33 – Transferor, Transferee and Transmittee
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Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 32 – Tax evasion, tax mitigation and tax avoidance
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Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 31 – Numbers
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Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 30 – Ordinary resolutions vs special resolutions
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Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 29 – AGM vs EGM
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Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 28 – A going concern
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Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 27 – Collocations: Violate, breach, break, disobey and infringe
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Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 26 – Company meeting words
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Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 25 – Mortgagor vs Mortgagee
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Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 24 – Fixed charges vs Floating charges
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Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 23 – Doctrine
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Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 22 – Construe
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Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 21 – Sign vs Execute
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Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 20 – The closing statement
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Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 19 – Writing Business Emails
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Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 18 – Limited companies
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Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 17 – Annual Accounts
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Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 16 – Meetings
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Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 15 – Attorney-at-law vs Attorney-in-fact
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Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 14 – Here and there compounds
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Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 13 – Subject Matter
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Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 12 – The clear days rule
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Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 11 – Shareholder, Member or Holder of shares?
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Legal English: Peter’s Pills – Lesson 10 – Competition Law
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Legal English: Peter’s Pills – Lesson 9 – Lasting Power of Attorney
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Legal English: Peter’s Pills – Lesson 8 – Guardianship
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Legal English: Peter’s Pills – Lesson 7 – Damage vs Damages
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Legal English: Peter’s Pills – Lesson 6 – Legal Doublets
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Legal English: Peter’s Pills – Lesson 5 – Escrow
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