Using the right word meaning

Presentation on theme: «Using the right word Write Source, pp. 694 and 696.»— Presentation transcript:

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Using the right word Write Source, pp. 694 and 696

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Using the Right Word sight, cite, site
I don’t have good sight when there is no light. Get it? What’s the connection? Cite is a verb that means “to quote.” When you write a research paper, you have to cite your sources in something called a parenthetical citation and on a Works Cited page. Also, if you break the law, you get a citation because you are cited for breaking the law. Site is a place, a location. Here’s how I remember it. Usually a site (like a building or a lot) costs money. Hence it is a $ite.

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Using the Right Word Stationary, stationery
Something that is stationary is not movable. The lockers in elementary school were stationary. The word stationery refers to the paper you use for a letter.

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Using the Right Word than, then
The word than is used to show comparison. I am meaner than your parents. The word then is related to the word when. They both refer to a time period.

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Using the Right Word their, there, they’re
The word their is a possessive pronoun. Look at all the possessive pronouns in these sentences: I found my book. (The word my has no apostrophes, right?) He loves his English teacher. (The word his has no apostrophes, right?) Sally forgot to do her homework. (The word her has no apostrophes, right) The students won their homecoming game. (The word their has no apostrophes!

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Using the Right Word their, there, they’re (continued)
The word there is related to the word where and indicates a location. The word they’re is contraction – joining they and are.

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Using the Right Word With smiles on their faces, they’re heading to the school over there.

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Using the Right Word which vs. that
— Use which if the clause that it introduces CAN be removed without muddying the meaning of the sentence. The American literature textbooks, which are in terrible shape, should be removed from the classroom. Notice that this sentence suggests that all American literature textbooks are in terrible shape and should be gotten rid of. However, the following sentence suggests that we are only removing the American literature textbooks that are in terrible shape. The American literature textbooks that are in terrible shape should be removed from the classroom.

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Using the Right Word emigrate vs. immigrate
Emigrate means to EXIT a country or environment. Notice that both words start with the letter e. Often, when the sentence requires emigrate, the word from will be in the sentence. Immigrate means to come INTO a country or environment. Notice that both word start with the letter i. Often, when the sentence requires immigrate, the word into will be in the sentence.

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Using the Right Word quote vs. quotation
Basically, it is this simple. The word quote is a verb. It is something you do. You quote. Quotation, on the other hand, is a noun. The words you take from someone else are put in quotation marks because they are a quotation.

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Using the Right Word allusion vs. illusion
The word allude means to refer to something. An allusion, then, is a reference to a piece of literature, art, music, history, etc. The word illusion (that starts with an i) is referring to something that has tricked your eye. Get it? I guess it’s an EYE-lusion

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Using the Right Word a while vs. awhile
The two-word expression a while is a noun phrase, consisting of the article a and the noun while, defined as “a period or interval of time.” The one-word awhile is an adverb that means “for a short time or period.” For a short period of time (a while), we sang. We also danced awhile.

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Using the Right Word if vs. whether
Use “if” when you have a conditional sentence and “whether” when showing that two alternatives are possible. The Longhorns didn’t know whether the opponent would leave on Friday night or Saturday morning. Because I used whether, you know that there are two possibilities: The opponent will leave on Friday night or they will leave Saturday morning.

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Using the Right Word if vs. whether (continued)
Now see how the sentence has a different meaning when I use if instead of whether: His parents didn’t know if he would leave on Friday or Saturday. In fact, he may not come until next month. In other words, it’s possible that their son may not arrive at all. These last two sentences show why it is better to use whether when you have two possibilities, and that is why I recommend using whether instead of if when you have two possibilities, even when the meaning wouldn’t change if you use if. It’s safer and more consistent.

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Using the Right Word if vs. whether (continued)
Here’s a final pair of examples: Call Squiggly if you are going to arrive on Friday. Call Squiggly whether or not you are going to arrive on Friday. The first sentence is conditional. Call Squiggly if you are going to arrive on Friday means Aardvark only needs to call if he is coming. The second sentence is not conditional. Call Squiggly whether or not you are going to arrive on Friday means Aardvark needs to call either way.

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Using the Right Word if vs. whether (continued)
To sum up, use whether when you have two discrete choices or to mean «regardless of whether,» and use if for conditional sentences.

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The 3 ‘R’s – for readers who have not come across this expression – are the basic subjects one first learns at school: reading, [w]riting and [a]rithmetic.

In this article, the 3Rs have a different meaning. We discuss 3 words used in contract law that start with an ‘r’.  They are technical, legal expressions, and many of us get by without using them at all, in contracts or elsewhere. Yet they feature in standard textbooks on contract law and in case law. The larger point is whether it is necessary to understand and use legal terms of art in contracts.

The 3 words are: revoke, repudiate and rescind. While they have other meanings in everyday life (eg if the authorities revoke – take away – your driving licence for drinking alcohol or speeding), these verbs have specific meanings in contract law. Like the Three Musketeers, they have a colleague who might be one of them, yet is slightly apart.  The noble Gascon of the contract world is (in noun form) restitution. Their colleagues in the corps of musketeers – rectification, release and replevin – will not be discussed in this article. Nor will their decrepit former colleague, rescous, which should not be confused with a type of wheat grain popular in North African cooking.

This article was prompted partly by a question that Ken Adams raised yesterday on Twitter:

Ken has followed up his question with a blog posting, titled simply Revoke. He suggests that there is no need to use the word revoke in relation to an IP licence, and that terminate is preferable.  IP Draughts agrees, but on technical questions of law he always keeps an open mind.  Property law has developed in strange ways over centuries (just think of the many types of legal and equitable interest that have been recognised) and there may be some point lurking in the shadows of old case law that he has not considered.

Whenever he hears any of the 3 R-words in a contract law context, IP Draughts has to concentrate to remember what they mean and to make sure he is not mixing them up.  Think of this article as remedial therapy for IP Draughts.  By forcing himself to articulate the different meanings, they may finally sink into his head. References below are to the leading tome, Chitty on Contracts, Volume 1, General Principles (30th edition, 2008).

Revoke

One of the traditional requirements for a binding contract is that one party makes an offer and the other accepts it.  A party can usually withdraw an offer before it is accepted.  The technical term for withdrawing an offer to enter into a contract is to revoke the offer (Chitty, 2-060).  Looking at the word revoke, it appears to have an etymology that suggests another word, “recall”.

This is different to terminating a contract that is already in existence.

Another sense of revoke is where a right or privilege that has been granted is subsequently withdrawn.  A driving licence may be withdrawn by the court for motoring offences such as speeding.  Some people use the term revoke for the termination of an IP licence, as the article linked above mentions.  As IP licences typically form part of contracts, this usage could be said to form part of contract law, but it is not conventional to refer to revoking a contract, and Chitty makes no mention of this usage.

Repudiate

In fact, there seem to be a pair of words with very similar meanings in contract law: repudiate and renounce.

IP Draughts is familiar with the expression “repudiatory breach” where a party acts in such a way as to make clear that he does not intend to perform his obligations under the contract, and the other party is entitled to “accept” this repudiation and terminate the contract.

Chitty seems to prefer the term renunciation for this type of breach (Chitty, 24-018) although the word repudiation appears in the discussion of several types of termination, eg in relation to contracts with minors (Chitty 8-031).

Rescind

The correct use of the term rescind is to describe a situation where the contract is treated as never having come into existence, and not the situation where a contract is terminated part-way through its ‘life’.

For example, if a contract is terminated by acceptance of a repudiatory breach, this is sometimes inaccurately described as a rescission (Chitty 24-027).

Rescission from the start of the contract (ab initio) may occur if a party is induced to enter into the contract by (for example) misrepresentation or mistake (Chitty 6-103).  If rescission occurs after the contract has started, it will have retroactive effect to cancel the contract (Chitty 6-106).

Discussion

The 3 R-words have acquired different meanings in English contract law.  The differences in meaning are quite subtle.  A breaching party may repudiate the contract, but termination only occurs if the other party accepts the repudiation.  If a party is induced to enter into a contract by a misrepresentation, he may be entitled to rescind the contract. Contracts cannot generally be revoked, but an offer to enter into one can be revoked before the other party accepts.  There is also a suggestion that a licence can be revoked.

And this is just what the terms probably mean in one country’s development of the common law.  There is no certainty that these terms have identical meanings in other common law systems. It seems even less likely that there is an identical meaning in civil code systems, and if the words are translated into other languages, the subtleties of meaning may be completely lost.

IP Draughts view is that it is better to avoid using terms such as rescind, revoke and repudiate in a contract, and instead to state specifically what rights and remedies and party has, eg the right to terminate for breach.  If termination is to be retroactive, this should be specifically stated. By using legal expressions of this kind, you may point a court to a particular understanding, based on case law, which may or may not work in the context of the contract under discussion.  Or you may find that the court is not familiar with the meaning you intended, particularly if the case is litigated outside your home jurisdiction. Or you may even use the wrong expression anyway – easy to do when they are so similar.