Lesson Module

LEGAL ENGLISH COMPILATION

For Law Faculty Student's
BHAYANGKARA UNIVERSITY OF SURABAYA

Compiled by:
Murry Darmoko

UBHARA Press
2017
Lesson Module
LEGAL ENGLISH COMPILATION
For Law Faculty Student's
BHAYANGKARA UNIVERSITY OF SURABAYA

Compiled by :
Murry Darmoko M., SHI., MA.

ISBN : 978-979-9009-33-3

Cover Design :
Ubhara Press Team

Publisher :
UBHARA PRESS

Redaction Location :
Jl. Ahmad Yani 114
Surabaya 60231
Tel. +62318285602 ext. 106, 129
Fax. +62318285601
Email : murry@ubhara.ac.id

1st Printing, August 2017

2nd Printing, August 2020

All rights reserved

It is prohibited to reproduce this paper in any form and by any means
without the written permission of the publisher

Legal English (2)

 Preface

Dear reader
English is the most language used in communication between
human in this earth. English is the key of winning global competition.
This Lesson Module Legal English is one of the answer for
developing students' knowledge and skills in language proficiency. This
book is a collection of the best papers from the experts that I can collect
about the learning process.
This book is an introduction of the Legal English. I hope it will be
the starting point of success in obtaining good TOEFL score. Amen.
I would like to thank Catherine Mason for 1st Chapter of her book
"The Lawyer's English Language Course book" which can be downloaded
at Google, "I pray that God always bless you and your family with the
knowledge you share". amen.
I would like too to thank Caroline Brown and Pearson Brown,
"You both make it easy for law faculty students to speak English by
learning The English Grammar Secrets, we do enjoy"
Also, I would like to thank God, Prophet Muhammad and his
family, father and mother, wife and my kids, leaders in Bhayangkara
University of Surabaya and lecturer friends at Law Faculty, especially for
all of my students in Law Faculty, I believe : “All of my students are my
teachers”.

Best Regards
Sidoarjo, March 21, 2020

Murry Darmoko M

Legal English (3)

 Contents
Preface
Contents
Lesson 1 PREFACE (Catherine Mason)
Lesson 2 WORKING IN LAW
Lesson 3 MAKING A CLAIM IN THE CIVIL COURT
Lesson 4 AREAS OF LAW (1)
Lesson 5 UNIT 1 A VOCABULARY CHECK
Lesson 6 FOUNDATION EXAM PRACTICE
Lesson 7 THE IMPORTANCE OF COLLOCATIONS
Lesson 8 Midterm Exams
Lesson 9 THE IMPORTANCE OF PREPOSITIONS
Lesson 10 SOLICITORS AND BARRISTERS
Lesson 11 AREAS OF LAW (2)
Lesson 12 THE REGISTER OF LETTER WRITING
Lesson 13 English Grammar Secrets 1
Lesson 14 English Grammar Secrets 2
Lesson 15 English Grammar Secrets 3
Lesson 16 Final Exams

Legal English (4)

 Catherine Mason
Cambridge 2011
PREFACE
We know that as a legal professional today, you need up-to-date and
accurate legal English in order to meet the challenges of work. This is
because: (1) you have to deal with English-speaking clients and lawyers
more than any previous generation of lawyers (2) you are often expected to
interpret or amend long commercial contracts drafted in English (3) you
receive letters and emails written in English on a daily basis
Legal English is a different language from general English. Just as
lawyers in your own country write in a different language from other
people, so do English-speaking lawyers. Sentences are often structured
differently in legal English. The words lawyers use are often centuries old
and no longer commonly used in general English. New prepositions need
to be learned. When you read a commercial contract or read a letter there is
new, technical vocabulary to understand on every page.
The Lawyer’s English Language Course book was written for legal
professionals such as you, with your needs at the heart of the book, and it
gives you the material you need to study in an efficient and effective way.
It is based upon our many years’ experience of teaching and working with
lawyers, law students and legal translators from around the world. We are
convinced that this book is the best study material available to you if you
want to be professional and accurate in all you do in English at work.
This course book is intended to be a complete course of preparation for
the Foundation and Higher exams in legal English. We recommend that
anyone planning to take the Advanced exam should use this book too, as
the material in it is fundamental to any lawyers’ English language skills.
Even if you do not intend to take a legal English exam, you can use this
book as a complete course of self-study for legal English and it is
recommended to anyone who needs to use legal English at work.
Each of the ten units is divided into section A (Foundation) and section
B (Higher). We recommend that everyone should complete section A of
each unit, to be sure from the start that you are familiar with the legal
vocabulary it contains and are accurate in what you are doing. When you
are confident that you know the material contained in section A of each
unit, you can proceed to build on your skills by completing the more
complex exercises in section B. Each unit also contains some practice
exercises for the exams.
You will see that the book contains boxes, clearly marked with a
symbol. These boxes or ‘banks’ of information contain language that you

Legal English (5)

will need to memorize. Please do not be tempted to ignore these boxes. We
assure you that if you memorize this information you will see a spectacular
improvement in your legal English. We believe that no particular book or
computer program can ever be a substitute for old-fashioned hard work.
We hope that you enjoy using this book and we are confident that it
will add quality and accuracy to your legal English skills.

Legal English (6)

 THE LEGAL PROFESSION
FOUNDATION
WORKING IN LAW

Exercise 1
Look at this list of legal occupations. All of these people work in law.
We call all of the people who work in these jobs ‘the legal profession’.
Match the jobs with one of the descriptions.

☼Solicitor ☼Attorney ☼Barrister ☼Lawyer1

a) This person is a lawyer who gives legal advice and opinions to

solicitors. He or she passed the exams of The Bar Council at the end
of his or her studies.
b) This person is a lawyer who gives legal advice to individuals and
companies. He or she passed his or her exams in the USA at the end
of his or her studies and is usually a member of the American Bar
Association.
c) This person is a lawyer who gives legal advice to individuals and
companies. He or she passed the exams of The Law Society of
England & Wales at the end of his or her studies.
d) This is the general job title that we use for people who work as a
solicitor, barrister or attorney.

                                                       
1
Lawyer is a general term for a person who gives legal device and aid and who
conducts suits in court. An attorney or, more correctly, an attorney-at-law, is a
member of the legal profession who represents a client in court when pleading or
defending a case. In the US, attorney applies to any lawyer. In the UK, those who
practice law are divided into barristers, who represent clients in open court and may
appear at the bar, and solicitors, who are permitted to conduct litigation in court but
not to plead cases in open court. The barrister does not deal directly with clients but
does so through a solicitor. The word attorney comes from French meaning ‘one
appointed or constituted’ and the word’s original meaning is of a person acting for
another as an agent or deputy. A solicitor would be the UK equivalent of the US
attorney-at-law. Counsel usually refers to a body of legal advisers but also pertains to
a single legal adviser and is a synonym for advocate, barrister, counselor, and
counselor-at-law.

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 Exercise 2
Read this text about working in law. The most important words are in
the key vocabulary below. Decide if the statements on the next page are
true or false.

Key vocabulary
 lawyer  practice  barristers  law firm
 attorney  judge  training contract  acting for
 qualified  legal practice  partnership  represent
 litigation  advocacy  pleading a case  specialize
 right of  appear  solicitors  clients
audience

There are two types of lawyer who practice in England. They are
called barristers2 and solicitors3. In the USA and most other countries,
lawyers don’t make this distinction – a lawyer is simply known as an
attorney-at-law, or an attorney.
In both England and the USA, it is not possible to take a special exam
to be a judge. If you decide that you want to be a judge, you must get a lot
of experience as a lawyer first, then apply to be a judge and wait to see if
you are chosen.
Most law students in England become solicitors. When they finish their
university studies they do a one-year legal practice course and then a
two-year training contract with a law firm. After that, they are qualified
solicitors. Many solicitors work for a legal practice, which is usually a
partnership of solicitors who work together. Solicitors practice in many
areas of law, although each solicitor usually chooses to specialize in one
particular area. They represent their clients both in and out of court. We
often describe this as acting for a client. The process of making a claim in
the civil court is called litigation.
Barristers are usually self-employed lawyers but can work in
partnerships in the way that solicitors do. They are specialists in advocacy,
which is the skill of speaking for someone in court. We call this pleading a
case. They also give opinions on areas of law to solicitors and the
solicitors’ clients. It is not just barristers who have the right of audience in
                                                       
2
Barristers are type of lawyers in common law jurisdictions and mostly
specialize in courtroom advocacy and litigation.
3
Solicitors are legal practitioners who traditionally deal with most of the legal
matters in some jurisdictions. They undertake the general aspects of giving advice and
conducting legal proceedings.

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court. Solicitors are also allowed to represent their clients in court and
many solicitors appear in court every day. It is not true to say that a client
always needs a barrister in court.
a) There are two types of lawyer practicing in England. ☼ True ☼
False
b) Last year I finished my training contract and I started working for a
large international law firm. I am now a qualified solicitor.☼ True
☼ False
c) Only barristers can speak on behalf of clients in court. ☼ True ☼
False
d) Both solicitors and barristers can work together in partnerships. ☼
True ☼ False
e) In the USA and England lawyers can take a special exam to be a
judge. ☼ True ☼ False

MAKING A CLAIM IN THE CIVIL COURT

In the English and American legal systems we divide the law into two
main areas. These are criminal law and civil law.
This means that everything that is not a criminal matter is a civil
matter.

Exercise 1
Look at these situations and decide if the person needs a criminal
lawyer or a civil lawyer.
In other words, is it a criminal matter or a civil matter?
a) Mr. Donald is opening a new factory. He needs to visit a lawyer to
get a contract for all of his employees to sign.☼ criminal ☼ civil
b) Mrs. Robson is thinking about what she wants to happen to her
house and possessions after her death. She needs to visit a lawyer to
get the correct document, which is called a ‘will’.☼ criminal ☼
civil
c) The police are taking Mr. Dean to the police station because they
say he stole a car. He needs a lawyer to come and visit him there to
tell him what to do.☼ criminal ☼ civil
d) Mr. Flynn owns a restaurant. He has a contract with a company to
deliver fruit and vegetables to his restaurant. The company didn’t
deliver them on the agreed date, so Mr. Flynn lost money because
he could not open his restaurant that day. Mr. Flynn needs to see a
lawyer about asking the delivery company to give him the money he
lost.☼ criminal ☼ civil

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 e) Mr. Allen is a bank manager. The bank is saying that some money
is missing. Mr. Allen has a new car and expensive clothes. The
police are coming to ask Mr. Allen some questions. He needs a
lawyer immediately.☼ criminal ☼ civil

Help desk
What do these words mean?
criminal law – the law that punishes acts against a person or against
property that people consider to be harmful to the whole community. The
state prosecutes criminals.
civil law – the law concerning the rights and duties of private
individuals and companies other than criminal matters.
a matter – a subject or situation, e.g. a criminal matter, a civil matter.
a will – a legal document in which a person gives details of what they
want to happen to their property after their death.
to steal (stole) – to take something that belongs to someone else with
the intention of keeping it.

Exercise 2
Read the information below. It is about starting a claim in the civil
court. Decide if the statements that follow are true or false.
Starting a claim in the civil court
When you are in dispute with another person sometimes it is necessary
to start a claim in the civil court. We sometimes call this process ‘filing a
claim’ or ‘issuing a claim’. Lawyers also say ‘starting proceedings’. We do
not use the verb ‘to prosecute’ in civil law because that verb is only used in
criminal law. In England most civil claims are filed in the County Court.
There are over 200 County Courts in England and Wales. Most cities and
large town shave a County Court.
The person who starts the claim is called the claimant in the UK. This
person was called the plaintiff4 until 1999, when there were new court
rules in England to make everything easier for people to understand.
However, in the USA the claimant is still called the plaintiff. In both
England and the USA the other party is called the defendant5.
                                                       
4
Plaintiff is the party who initiates a lawsuit before a court and seeks a legal
remedy; if this search is successful, the court will issue judgment in favour of the
plaintiff and make the appropriate court order. In other word, plaintiff is the person or
group who is accusing another person or group of some wrongdoing.
5
Defendant [in criminal law] is a person accused (charged) of committing an
offence (a crime : an act defined as punishable under criminal law) or [in civil law] or

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 A claim form is the document that a claimant uses to start legal action
against the defendant.
Why might a claimant start a claim? There are a lot of reasons, for
example: someone refuses to pay you money that they owe to you,
someone does a job for you, but they do it badly. We call this bad
workmanship, something that you paid for is not supplied to you,
something that you bought is not working properly.
The claimant has to pay a sum of money, called a court fee, for the
court to issue proceedings. In the claim form, the claimant must state the
amount of his or her claim and request the defendant to pay all of the legal
costs of the case.
Sometimes people talk about ‘the small claims court’. They really mean
the special procedure that exists at the County Court for small claims. A
small claim is a claim for less than £5000. This amount will probably
increase in the future.
a) Starting a claim means the same as starting proceedings. ☼ True ☼
False
b) You can ‘prosecute’ someone in the civil court. ☼ True ☼ False
c) There are more than 200 County Courts in England and Wales. ☼
True ☼ False
d) The word ‘plaintiff’ is not used in England any more but it is used
in the USA.☼ True ☼ False
e) It is free to start a claim in the County Court. ☼ True ☼ False
f) There is a special court in a separate building for making small
claims. ☼ True ☼ False

Help desk
What do these words mean?
to be in dispute – to have a serious disagreement with another person.
a party to a court case – the claimant or the defendant.
to owe money to someone – to have to pay someone for something that
they have done for you or given to you.
legal costs – the court fees and payment for the lawyers who are acting for
the parties.
a procedure – a decided way of doing something.
to prosecute – to take legal action against someone in the criminal court.

                                                                                                                                                                          

respondent is also the accused party although not of an offense but of a civil wrong (a
tort or a breach of contract for instance).

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 Exercise 3
Here are some important expressions which lawyers use when they talk
about starting a claim in the civil court. Complete the sentences by
matching the first half of each sentence with the correct ending.
(1) To issue a claim means to… (1)…confirm that you have received
the claim and to say what you will do
next.
(2) To pay a fee means to… (1)…start a claim in the civil court.
(3) To serve a claim upon (1)…listen to the details of the claim
someone means to… and listen to what the claimant and
the defendant say about their dispute.
(4) To respond to a claim means (1)…pay the court an amount of
to… money for issuing the claim.
(5) To hear a case means to… (1)…can legally take a person’s
property when that person does not
pay money that he or she owes.
(6) To find in favor of someone (1)…officially announce the result of
means to… the case. The judge may give the
reasons for the decision.
(7) To give a judgment means (1)…send the claim to the
to… defendant’s address and make sure
that he or she receives it.
(8) To make an order means (1)…decide that this person has won
to… the case.
(9) A bailiff is a person who… (1)…officially state what someone
has to do, and how and when he or
she must do it.

Exercise 4
Here are the steps in which a claim goes through the County Court. Fill
the gaps with a word from Exercise 3.
a) The claimant _______________ a claim in the County Court.
b) The claimant will have to pay a _______________. The amount
depends on the amount of money that the claimant is claiming.
c) The court or the claimant’s solicitor _______________ the claim
upon the defendant. This means that they send it to the defendant’s
address and make sure that the defendant receives it.
d) The defendant has 14 days from the day he or she receives the claim
to _______________ to it. The defendant can admit the claim,
which means to agree that the claim is right, and pay the money that

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 the claimant wants, or the defendant can defend the claim.
e) If the defendant decides to defend the claim, a judge will
_______________ the case in the County Court.
f) The judge will give his or her judgment. The judge will
_______________ in favor of the claimant or the defendant.
g) The parties must follow the terms of the _______________ that the
judge makes and they must make sure that they obey any
instructions about time limits.
h) If the order says that the defendant must pay money to the claimant,
then the claimant can use the services of a _______________ to
collect that money if the defendant does not pay.

Legal English (13)

 AREAS OF LAW

Exercise 1
In England and the USA there is an area of law called ‘the law of tort’.
It is the law of civil responsibility. It is an area of civil law. Read this text
about the law of tort. The most important words are in the key vocabulary
below. Answer the questions that follow using a full sentence.

Key vocabulary
 law of tort  carelessness  tort  damages
 duty of care  committed  to sue  grounds
 allegations  negligence  no win no fee  breach

The law of tort says that everyone has a civil duty to be careful and not
to hurt or harm another person. Lawyers call this civil duty ‘the duty of
care’. Sometimes people breach this duty of care. To breach means to
break. Very often they breach the duty of care by accident but sometimes
they do it deliberately. If someone hurts or harms another person because
of a breach, we call this harmful action a tort. This means that some things
that might be criminal in your legal system are a tort in England and the
USA.
Look at the list of harmful actions below. In England and the USA they
are usually torts: (1) Leaving the floor of a shop in a dangerous condition
so that a customer falls and hurts her leg, (2) Saying something that is bad
about someone, which isn’t true (3) Writing a negative story in a
newspaper about someone, which isn’t true (4) Playing loud music late
every night, which disturbs your neighbors.
This area of law is easier to understand by thinking of a tort as being a
type of civil wrong. Each of the torts listed above has a special name. The
tort that happens most often is called negligence.
Negligence is when someone is not careful enough and this person’s
carelessness hurts another person as a result. The person who is hurt is
called the injured person.
When someone hurts you as a result of his or her actions, you need to
consult a lawyer who specializes in the right area of tort. The lawyer will
try to get you money from the careless person. This money is called
‘compensation’ or, more correctly, ‘damages’. Sometimes the lawyers
can’t agree on the amount of damages. When this happens, the injured
person may decide to sue the person who has hurt them. Suing someone is
a more informal way of saying starting proceedings against someone in a

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civil court. The claim form will state the claimant’s allegations against the
defendant. An allegation is like an accusation. The claimant is stating that
something happened, but the defendant has the opportunity to say that this
is not true. The reasons for going to court are called ‘the grounds’. The
grounds for an action in tort are that the defendant committed a tort.
Sometimes a lawyer who specializes in the tort of negligence makes an
agreement with a client. The agreement is that if the client does not win the
case then he or she does not have to pay for the lawyer’s services. This is
called a ‘no win no fee’ arrangement. It is allowed in the UK and the USA.
Example question: What is the duty of care? The duty of care is the
obligation to be careful and not to hurt anyone.
a) How do lawyers say to ‘break’ a duty of care? ______________
b) In England and the USA, is the law of tort an area of criminal or
civil law? ______________
c) There are different types of tort. In general, what is a tort?
______________
d) What is the name of the tort that a person commits because he or she
is careless and hurts someone else as a result of this carelessness?
______________
e) What does suing mean? ______________
f) What is the correct name for the money that an injured person gets
from the defendant in a successful action in tort? ______________
g) What is the correct name for an arrangement where a client does not
have to pay his or her lawyer if the client loses his or her action in
tort? ______________

Exercise 2
Put a word from the key vocabulary in Exercise 1 into the following
sentences.
a) I am ______________ the owner of the shop because there was
water on the floor and I fell and hurt my back.
b) I am a lawyer who specializes in the tort of ______________.
People are just not careful enough! At the moment I am acting for
the injured person in more than 20 different cases.
c) The machines in the clothing factory were old and dangerous and
one of the employees injured his hand. The employee sued the
factory owners and got £5000 in ______________.
d) In your claim form you accuse us of breaching our duty of care. We
do not accept that your______________ are true and we will defend
your claim in court.

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 e) Do you have a good reason for suing the owner of the hotel? What
exactly are your ____________ for starting legal action?

Exercise 3
Here is a list of some important areas of law. Read what the lawyers
say on the next page. They are talking about the work they do. Match the
lawyer with the correct area of law.
a) law of contract f) employment law
b) company law g) family law
c) land law h) immigration law
d) law of tort i) intellectual property law
e) law of equity and trusts j) criminal law

David ‘I work in New York. I deal with clients from other countries
who want to come and live here. I help them to get permission
from the government to make their dream of living in the USA
a reality.’
Tom ‘I am with a law firm in Manchester. I am now in the second
year of my training contract. At the moment I deal with clients
who are buying or selling their house. It is my job to make
sure everything is correct and that the sale is valid.’
Jennifer ‘I work in a very exciting area of law here in Los Angeles. I
meet a lot of writers and musicians and sometimes even
people from movie studios! I protect their rights and make
sure that no one can copy their work and make money from it
without their permission.’
Alistair ‘When I write the story of my life I will call my book,
"Robbers, Murderers and Other Friends of Mine!" I work in
Newcastle, which is in the north of England. I defend people
who are in trouble with the police. They may even go to
prison! It is my job to help them.’
Sunitta ‘I work in Sydney, Australia. I give advice to people who are
unhappy living together and they want a divorce. Sometimes
people argue about money or the care of the children. It’s a
difficult area of law and I feel very sympathetic towards my
clients.’
Cory ‘I work in Chicago. I’m quite famous on TV here in the USA.
That’s because Channel 10 show my advertisement five times
every day! I ask people to call me if they were hurt or were in
an accident because somebody else wasn’t careful enough. If

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 people are not careful, then I’m afraid they will have to pay
damages!’
Kayleigh ‘I work in Christchurch, New Zealand. Most of my clients
have problems at work. I saw a lady this morning who is going
to have a baby. When she told her boss that she was pregnant,
he fired her from her job. That is not legal in New Zealand and
I will help her to do something about it.’
Michael ‘I work for a very big London law firm. Our clients are banks
and other big businesses. Today I am working on a merger
agreement, which means that two companies are joining
together to become one. Yesterday I advised a new client who
wants to start an internet company on the different ways he
can do it.’
Mary ‘I am based in Dublin, the capital city of Ireland. I see people
or companies who want to make a legal agreement with
another person or company. Today I am dealing with an
agreement to deliver goods from Ireland to the USA. I have to
check every word very carefully!’
Polly ‘I work in a very old and interesting area of law. Today I met a
client who is 70 years old and has no family. When she dies,
she wants to put all of her money into a special fund. Her two
friends will use this money to help pay for a training school
for actors and actresses from her home city here in Liverpool.
I explained to her how to do that and I will draft the necessary
legal documents for her.’

Help desk
What do these words mean?
to deal with someone or something – to do business with someone or
to take the correct action in an area of work.
legal – allowed by the law.
valid – legally correct and acceptable.
to draft a document – to write a document.
to have a right – (in intellectual property law) to have a legal interest
in something; it is yours.
robber – a person who steals money or property while using or
threatening to use violence.
a divorce – the legal ending of a marriage.
to merge – (in company law) when two companies join together to
form one.

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 to be based somewhere – to be established somewhere as the main
place where you work or live.
goods – things that are produced so that they can be sold.
fund – an amount of money that a person or organization keeps to pay
for something in particular.

Exercise 4
Choose a word or phrase from the box to complete the sentences.
 drafting  criminal  goods  the law of
law tort
 the law of  valid  intellectual property  family law
equity and law
trusts
 based in  merged

a) A lawyer who deals with clients who are in trouble with the police
is a specialist in ______________.
b) Last year my bank ______________ with a big German bank and
they are now called Europe Bank. I think they are the biggest bank
in Europe now!
c) A lawyer who deals with clients who create new inventions such as
medicines, machines or new artistic works such as books or music,
is a specialist in ______________.
d) I spent three hours this morning ______________ a contract for my
new client. I think the contract is ready for him to read and sign
now.
e) I want to put some of my money into a fund for the benefit of my
grandchildren, which they will have when they reach the age of 18.
I need to see a lawyer who is a specialist in ______________.
f) Well, I am from London but I am ______________ Amsterdam at
the moment because I am working for a Dutch company.
g) A lawyer who deals with clients who are divorcing or who have
problems over the care of their children is a specialist in
______________.
h) The company delivers ______________ all over the United States
by rail and by truck.
i) A lawyer who deals with people who breach their civil duty of care
is a specialist in ______________.
j) That contract is not ______________ because your client has not
signed it.

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 Exercise 5
Look at the words and phrases in the box. All of the words are
connected with specific areas of law. Put the words into the correct
sentence to complete the definitions.

 unfair dismissal6  landlord  capital  redundancy

7

 lease of land and  maternity  sick pay/sick  partnership

buildings8 leave9 leave10
 formation of a  discriminat  insolvent11  merger
business e
 tenant  conveying12  real estate

a) To be ________________________ means not having enough

money to pay your debts.
b) A ________________________ is the joining together of two or
more things, such as companies, to form one single thing or
company.
c) A ________________________ is a person who pays rent to the
owner of a house, a flat or an office in return for living there, or for
using the building for business purposes.
d) ________________________ is the legal process involved in
transferring the ownership of a house or land from the seller to the
buyer.
e) To ________________________ against someone means to behave
differently towards that person, usually in the workplace, because of
                                                       
6
Unfair dismissal is : (1) an act of employment termination made without good
reason or contrary to the country’s specific legislation. (2) when employee is
dismissed from their job in a harsh, unjust or unreasonable manner.
7
Redundancy : a situation in which someone loses their job because their
employer does not need them.
8
Lease : A contract by which on party conveys land, property, services, etc. to
another for a specified time, usually in return for a periodic payment.
9
Maternity leave is a right to a temporary and unpaid period of absence from
employment granted to expectant or new mothers during the months immediately
before and after childbirth.
10
Sick Pay is time off from work that workers can use to stay home to address
their health and safety needs without losing pay.
11
Insolvent : unable to pay debts owed
12
Conveying : act of transferring property title from one person to another

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 their age, sex or the color of their skin.
f) ________________________ is a situation where someone loses
his or her job for a reason that is not valid.
g) ________________________ is money that an employer must pay
to an employee when that employee is ill and cannot work.
h) A ________________________ is an agreement to allow someone
to use land or buildings for a fixed period of time in return for a
payment of rent.
i) The ________________________ is the establishment of a new
business in a specific way.
j) A ________________________ is a business which a minimum of
two people own and control.
k) ________________________ is the time period when a woman is
not at work before and after the birth of her baby. Her employer
usually pays her for part or all of the time that she is away.
l) ________________________ is the total amount of money,
property and other assets that a business has.
m) ________________________ is a situation where someone loses
his or her job because an employer no longer needs so many
employees.
n) A ________________________ is a person who owns a house, a
flat or office and receives rent from someone for allowing them to
live there, or use the building for business purposes.
o) ________________________ is a more formal way of saying land
and buildings.

Help desk
What do these words mean?
ownership – to have ownership of a property means that the property
belongs to you. You are the owner of the property.
assets – things that a person or company owns.
debts – sums of money that you owe.
rent – the money that someone pays, usually every month, to use a flat,
a house or an office that belongs to someone else.
fixed – something that is fixed is certain and cannot be changed.

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 Exercise 6
All of the words and phrases in Exercise 5 belong to either employment
law, business law or land law. Put each word or phrase under the correct
area of law.
Employment law Business law Land law
______________ ___________ _________
______________ ___________ _________
______________ ___________ _________
______________ ___________ _________
______________ ___________ _________

Exercise 7
Complete the following sentences by using the words from the
employment law section.
a) My baby will arrive at the end of March so I will take six months’
________________ starting on 1 March.
b) He sued his employer on the grounds of ________________
because the reason his employer gave for firing him was not valid.
c) If you are ill and not able to work you should look at your contract
to see if you can get ________________.
d) It is against the law in England for an employer to
________________ against an employee because of his or her age.
e) Many employees are worried about ________________ because a
lot of businesses are closing in this area at the moment.

Exercise 8
Complete the following sentences by using the words from the business
law section.
a) The ________________ is the formal way of saying the way in
which a new business is created.
b) The total ________________ of the business is valued at
approximately £32 million.
c) The business does not have enough money to pay its debts is
________________.
d) There will be a ________________ next year between two major
British chemical companies.
e) My friend and I want to start a cleaning business together and we
decided that the best thing to do is to create a ________________.

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 Exercise 9
Complete the following sentences by using the words from the land law
section.
a) He is a very good ________________. He always pays the rent on
time!
b) My sister works in the property department of her law firm. She acts
for people who are buying and selling houses. She is a specialist in
________________.
c) We don’t own our house; we rent it. The ________________ ends
in three months so we will have to find somewhere else to live.
d) He is the ________________ of five houses in this area. He makes
a lot of money every month from the rent.
e) The price of ________________ in this part of the country
increased a lot last year. It is very expensive to buy a house.

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 English Grammar Secrets
by Caroline Brown and Pearson Brown

Present continuous
The present continuous is used to talk about present situations which
we see as short term or temporary. We use the present simple to talk about
present situations which we see as long-term or permanent.
In these examples, the action is taking place at the time of speaking: It
is raining / Who is Kate talking to on the phone? / Look, somebody is
trying to steal that man's wallet / I'm not looking. My eyes are closed
tightly.
In these examples, the action is true at the present time but we don't
think it will be true in the long term : I'm looking for a new apartment /
He's thinking about leaving his job / They're considering making an appeal
against the judgment / Are you getting enough sleep?
In these examples, the action is at a definite point in the future and it
has already been arranged : I'm meeting her at 6.30 / They aren't arriving
until Tuesday / We are having a special dinner at a top restaurant for all the
senior managers / Isn't he coming to the dinner?

Present simple
We use the present simple to talk about actions we see as long term or
permanent. It is a very common and very important tense.
Here, we are talking about regular actions or events : They drive to
the office every day / She doesn't come here very often / The news usually
starts at 6.00 every evening / Do you usually have bacon and eggs for
breakfast?
Here, we are talking about facts : We have two children / Water freezes
at 0° C or 32° F / What does this expression mean? / The Thames flows
through London.
Here, we are talking about future facts, usually found in a timetable or
a chart : Christmas Day falls on a Monday this year / The plane leaves at
5.00 tomorrow morning / Ramadan doesn't start for another 3 weeks / Does
the class begin at 10 or 11 this week?
Here, we are talking about our thoughts and feelings at the time of
speaking. Although these feelings can be short-term, we use the present
simple and not the present continuous : They don't ever agree with us / I
think you are right / She doesn't want you to do it / Do you understand
what I am trying to say.

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 Past simple
We use the past simple to talk about actions and states which we see as
completed in the past.
We can use it to talk about a specific point in time : She came back
last Friday / I saw her in the street / They didn't agree to the deal.
It can also be used to talk about a period of time : She lived in Tokyo
for seven years / They were in London from Monday to Thursday of last
week / When I was living in New York, I went to all the art exhibitions I
could.
You will often find the past simple used with time expressions such as
these: Yesterday, three weeks ago, last year, in 2002, from March to June,
for a long time, for 6 weeks, in the 1980s, in the last century, in the past

Past continuous
We use the past continuous to talk about past events which went on for
a period of time.
We use it when we want to emphasize the continuing process of an
activity or the period of that activity. (If we just want to talk about the past
event as a simple fact, we use the past simple.) : While I was driving home,
Peter was trying desperately to contact me / Were you expecting any
visitors? / Sorry, were you sleeping? / I was just making some coffee / I
was thinking about him last night / In the 1990s few people were using
mobile phones.
We often use it to describe a "background action" when something else
happened : I was walking in the street when I suddenly fell over / She was
talking to me on the phone and it suddenly went dead / They were still
waiting for the plane when I spoke to them / The company was declining
rapidly before he took charge / We were just talking about it before you
arrived / I was making a presentation in front of 500 people when the
microphone stopped working.

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 Present perfect
(Please note that British and American English have different rules for
the use of this tense. The explanation and exercises here refer to British
English. In American English, it is often acceptable to use the past simple
in some of these examples.)
We use the present perfect when we want to look back from the present
to the past.
We can use it to look back on the recent past : I've broken my watch
so I don't know what time it is / They have cancelled the meeting / She's
taken my copy. I don't have one / The sales team has doubled its turnover.
When we look back on the recent past, we often use the words 'just'
'already' or the word 'yet' (in negatives and questions only) : We've already
talked about that / She hasn't arrived yet / I've just done it / They've already
met / They don't know yet / Have you spoken to him yet? / Have they got
back to you yet?
It can also be used to look back on the more distant past : We've been
to Singapore a lot over the last few years / She's done this type of project
many times before / We've mentioned it to them on several occasions over
the last six months / They've often talked about it in the past.
When we look back on the more distant past, we often use the words
'ever' (in questions) and 'never' : Have you ever been to Argentina? / Has
he ever talked to you about the problem? / I've never met Jim and Sally /
We've never considered investing in Mexico.

Present perfect continuous

This tense is used to talk about an action or actions that started in the
past and continued until recently or that continue into the future:
We can use it to refer to an action that has finished but you can still
see evidence : Oh, the kitchen is a mess. Who has been cooking? / You
look tired. Have you been sleeping properly? / I've got a a stiff neck. I've
been working too long on computer.
It can refer to an action that has not finished : I've been learning
Spanish for 20 years and I still don't know very much / I've been waiting
for him for 30 minutes and he still hasn't arrived / He's been telling me
about it for days. I wish he would stop.
It can refer to a series of actions : She's been writing to her regularly
for a couple of years / He's been phoning me all week for an answer / The
university has been sending students here for over twenty years to do work
experience.
The present perfect continuous is often used with 'since', 'for', 'all

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week', 'for days', 'lately', 'recently', 'over the last few months' : I've been
wanting to do that for ten years / You haven't been getting good results
over the last few months / They haven't been working all week. They're on
strike / He hasn't been talking to me for weeks / We've been working hard
on it for ages / I've been looking at other options recently / He's been
working here since 2001.

Irregular verbs
All new verbs in English are regular : I photocopied the report / She
faxed it to me / They emailed everybody about it / I googled my name and
got more than 20000 responses.
There are approximately 180 irregular verbs. You don't need to learn all
of them because some of these are very rare but many others are very
useful and you do need to know them.
What is the easiest way to learn them? Some people think you should
learn a list 'by heart'. Others think you should not learn them at all – you
will just gradually acquire them over time.
One useful method is to note down new irregular verbs as you meet
them. It is useful to write these verbs (or any vocabulary you want to learn)
in sentences and learn those rather than the individual word.
Which is easier to learn? stick stuck stuck / I stuck the photo into my
album.
Another technique is to classify the irregular verbs into 4 categories.
1. All forms the same : set set set / cost cost cost
2. Similar sound groups : beat beat beaten / eat ate eaten / blow blew
blown / throw threw thrown / drink drank drunk / sing sang sung / speak
spoke spoken / wake woke woken
3. The second and third forms are the same : bend bent bent / sleep
slept slept / spend spent spent / bring brought brought / buy bought bought
/ teach taught taught / have had had / pay paid paid / say said said
4. The "unclassifiable" : come came come / do did done / go went gone
/ show showed show

Going to
There is no one 'future tense' in English. There are 4 future forms. The
one which is used most often in spoken English is 'going to', not 'will'.
We use 'going to' when we want to talk about a plan for the future : I'm
going to see him later today / They're going to launch it next month / We're
going to have lunch first / She's going to see what she can do / I'm not
going to talk for very long.

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 Notice that this plan does not have to be for the near future : When I
retire I'm going to go back to Barbados to live / In ten years time, I'm going
to be boss of my own successful company.
We use 'going to' when we want to make a prediction based on
evidence we can see now : Look out! That cup is going to fall off / Look at
those black clouds. It's going to rain soon / These figures are really bad.
We're going to make a loss / You look very tired. You're going to need to
stop soon.
We can replace 'going to go' by 'going' : I'm going out later / She's
going to the exhibition tomorrow.

Will - future
Some people have been taught that 'will' is 'the future' in English. This
is not correct.
Sometimes when we talk about the future we cannot use 'will'.
Sometimes when we use 'will' we are not talking about the future.
We can use 'will' to talk about future events we believe to be certain :
The sun will rise over there tomorrow morning / Next year, I'll be 50 / That
plane will be late. It always is / There won't be any snow. I'm certain. It's
too warm.
Often we add 'perhaps', 'maybe', 'probably', 'possibly' to make the belief
less certain : I'll probably come back later / He'll possibly find out when he
sees Jenny / Maybe it will be OK / Perhaps we'll meet again some day.
We often use 'will' with 'I think' or 'I hope' : I think I'll go to bed now / I
think she'll do well in the job / I hope you'll enjoy your stay / I hope you
won't make too much noise.
We use 'will' at the moment we make a new decision or plan. The
thought has just come into our head : Bye. I'll phone you when I get there /
I'll answer that / I'll go / I won't tell him. I promise.

Shall
We don't use 'Shall' very frequently in modern English, particularly in
American English.
It is used to make offers and suggestions and to ask for advice : What
time shall we meet? / Shall we vote on it now? / What dress shall I wear? /
Shall I open the window?
You only really need to know that about 'shall' in modern English. Read
the rest of this only if you want to know more about how some older
speakers still use 'shall'.
Formerly, in older grammar, 'shall' was used as an alternative to 'will'

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with 'I' and 'we'. Today, 'will' is normally used. When we do use 'shall', it
has an idea of a more personal, subjective future : I shall go to see the boss
and I shall ask him to explain this decision
Notice that the negative of 'shall' can be 'shall not' or 'shan't' – though
the second one is now very rare in American English : I don't like these
people and I shall not go to their party / I shan't object if you go without
me.

The imperative
We can use the imperative to give a direct order : Take that chewing
gum out of your mouth / Stand up straight / Give me the details.
We can use the imperative to give instructions : Open your book / Take
two tablets every evening / Take a left and then a right.
We can use the imperative to make an invitation : Come in and sit
down. Make yourself at home / Please start without me. I'll be there shortly
/ Have a piece of this cake. It's delicious.
We can use the imperative on signs and notices : Push / Do not use /
Insert one dollar.
We can use the imperative to give friendly informal advice : Speak to
him. Tell him how you feel / Have a quiet word with her about it / Don't
go. Stay at home and rest up. Get some sleep and recover.
We can make the imperative 'more polite' by adding 'do' : Do be quiet /
Do come / Do sit down.
The Passive
We use the active form to say what the subject does. For example : I
speak English every day at work / I repaired the flat tire on the car.
We use the passive form to say what happens to people and things, to
say what is done to them. For example : English is spoken here / The car is
being repaired.
We use the passive form when we don't know who did the action. For
example : The car was damaged while it was parked on the street / The
shirts were made in Turkey.
We use the passive form when what was done is more important than
who did it. For example : It was approved by Gerry last week / I was
informed by the Human Resources Manager only two days ago.
The -ing form
The –ing form can be used like a noun, like an adjective or like a verb :
Smoking is forbidden / I have a long working day / I don't like dancing.
When it is used like a noun it may or may not have an article before it :
Marketing is a very inexact science / The marketing of the product will

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continue for a few months yet.
It can also be part of a 'noun phrase' : Speaking to an audience is always
stressful / Swimming after work is very relaxing.
In formal English, we would use a possessive with the –ing form. In
informal English, many people do not : I'm angry about his missing the
meeting / Do you mind my coming?
As an adjective, the –ing form can be used before a noun : I was met by
a welcoming party at the airport / Let's go to the meeting room.
The –ing form is used after prepositions : Before leaving, you need to
speak to Sarah / After discussing it with her, I've changed my mind /
Instead of feeling sorry for yourself, do some work for charity
Notice that when 'to' is used as a preposition, it is followed by the –ing
form : I don't object to working this Sunday / I'm looking forward to seeing
him again / I'm used to working long hours.
There are many verb + -ing combinations. Here are some common ones
: I admit telling her / I appreciate having the raise / I avoid speaking to him
/ I consider blowing your nose in public to be wrong / I delayed coming
until the last possible moment / He denied telling her / I detest going to
parties / I enjoy dancing / I feel like having a party / I've finished writing
the report / I've given up going to the gym / I can't help thinking about it / I
can't imagine ever leaving this company / I don't mind doing that / He put
off talking to her as long as he could / I can't stand drinking beer.
Some verbs can be followed by either the infinitive or –ing form but
with different meanings. Here are some common ones : I stopped smoking
last month. (I no longer smoke.) / I stopped to smoke a cigarette. (I stopped
what I was doing and had a cigarette.) / I remember telling him. (A
memory of the past.) / I must remember to tell him. (Something to
remember for the future.) / I'm interested in finding out more details.
(Interested about the future.) / I was interested to read his report.
(Interested in the past.)
Some verbs can be followed by either the infinitive or –ing form but
with the same meaning. Here are some common ones : I love to go
shopping / I love going shopping / I'm afraid to fly / I'm afraid of flying / I
started to learn English 5 years ago / I started learning English 5 years ago.

Can
We use 'can' to talk about 'possibility' : Can you do that? I can't manage
to do that / You can leave your car in that parking space / You cannot
smoke in here.
Notice that there are two negative forms: 'can't' and 'cannot'. These

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mean exactly the same thing. When we are speaking, we usually say 'can't'.
We use 'can' to talk about 'ability' : I can speak French / I can't drive.
We use 'can' to ask for and give permission. (We also use 'may' for this
but is more formal and much less common) : Can I speak to you or are you
too busy? / You can use my phone / You can't come in.
We use 'can' in offers, requests and instructions : Can I help? / Can you
give me a hand? / When you finish that, you can take out the garbage.
We use 'can' with 'see' 'hear' 'feel' 'smell' 'taste' to talk about something
which is happening now . (Where you would use the present continuous
with most other verbs) : I can smell something burning / Can you hear that
noise? / I can't see anything.
We can use 'can't' for deduction. The opposite of 'can't' in this context is
'must' : You can't be hungry. You've just eaten / You must be hungry. You
haven't eaten anything all day / He was in London one hour ago when I
spoke to him. He can't be here yet.

Could
'Could' can be used to talk about the past, the present or the future.
'Could' is a past form of 'can' ; When I was living in Boston, I could
walk to work / He phoned to say he couldn't come / I could see him clearly
but I couldn't hear him and then the video conference line went dead.
'Could' is used to make polite requests. We can also use 'can' for these
but 'could' is more polite : Could you help me, please? / Could you lend me
some money? / Could I have a lift? / Could I bother you for a moment?
If we use 'could' in reply to these requests, it suggests that we do not
really want to do it. If you agree to the request, it is better to say 'can' : Of
course I can / I could help you if it's really necessary but I'm really busy
right now / I could lend you some money but I'd need it back tomorrow
without fail / I could give you a lift as far as Birmingham.
'Could' is used to talk about theoretical possibility and is similar in
meaning to 'might' : It could rain later. Take an umbrella / He could be
there by now / Could he be any happier? / It could be Sarah's.

May / might
We can use 'may' to ask for permission. However this is rather formal
and not used very often in modern spoken English : May I borrow your
pen? / May we think about it? / May I go now?
We use 'may' to suggest something is possible : It may rain later today /
I may not have time to do it today / Pete may come with us.
We use 'might' to suggest a small possibility of something. Often we

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read that 'might' suggests a smaller possibility that 'may', there is in fact
little difference and 'might is more usual than 'may' in spoken English : She
might be at home by now but it's not sure at all / It might rain this
afternoon / I might not have time to go to the shops for you / I might not
go.
For the past, we use 'might have' : He might have tried to call while I
was out / I might have dropped it in the street.

Should
We use 'should' for giving advice : You should speak to him about it /
He should see a doctor / We should ask a lawyer.
We use 'should' to give an opinion or a recommendation : He should
resign now / We should invest more in Asia / They should do something
about this terrible train service.
'Should' expresses a personal opinion and is much weaker and more
personal than 'must' or 'have to'. It is often introduced by ' I think' : I think
they should replace him / I don't think they should keep the contract / Do
you think we should tell her.
We can use 'should' after 'reporting verbs' such as demand insist
propose recommend suggest : He demanded that we should pay for the
repair / She insisted that she should pay for the meal / I have proposed that
he should take charge of the organization / The committee recommends
that Jane should be appointed / We have suggested that Michael should be
given a reward for his hard work.
However, it is also possible to say exactly the same thing by omitting
the 'should' and just using the infinitive form without 'to'. Some people call
this the 'subjunctive' form : He demanded that we pay for the repair / She
insisted that she pay for the meal / I have proposed that he take charge of
the organization / The committee recommends that Jane be appointed / We
have suggested that Michael be given a reward for his hard work.
We can use 'should' after various adjectives. Typical examples are
funny interesting natural odd strange surprised surprising typical: It's funny
that you should say that. I was thinking exactly the same thing / It's
interesting that they should offer him the job. Not an obvious choice / It's
natural that you should be anxious. Nobody likes speaking in public / Isn't
it odd that he should be going to the same tiny hotel? What a coincidence /
It's strange that you should think so. Nobody else does.
We can use 'should' in 'if clauses' when we believe that the possibility
of something happening is small : If you should happen to see him before I
do, can you tell him that I want to speak to him urgently? / If there should

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be a problem, just give me a call and I'll sort it out / If anyone should ask
where I am, say I'm in a meeting.
We use 'should' in various fixed expressions. (a) To show strong
agreement : They're paying you compensation? I should think so. (b) To
express pleasure when you receive a gift: What a fantastic present. You
really should not have (c) To emphasize a visible emotion: You should
have seen the look on her face when she found out that she had got the
promotion.

Must or have to
We can use 'must' to show that we are certain something is true. We are
making a logical deduction based upon some clear evidence or reason:
There's no heating on. You must be freezing / You must be worried that
she is so late coming home / I can't remember what I did with it. I must be
getting old / It must be nice to live in Florida.
We also use 'must' to express a strong obligation. When we use 'must'
this usually means that some personal circumstance makes the obligation
necessary (and the speaker almost certainly agrees with the obligation): I
must go to bed earlier / They must do something about it / You must come
and see us some time / I must say, I don't think you were very nice to him.
We can also use 'have to' to express a strong obligation. When we use
'have to' this usually means that some external circumstance makes the
obligation necessary: I have to arrive at work at 9 sharp. My boss is very
strict / We have to give him our answer today or lose out on the contract /
You have to pass your exams or the university will not accept you / I have
to send a report to Head Office every week.
In British English, we often use 'have got to' to mean the same as 'have
to'; I've got to take this book back to the library or I'll get a fine / We've got
to finish now as somebody else needs this room
We can also use ' will have to' to talk about strong obligations. Like
'must' this usually means that that some personal circumstance makes the
obligation necessary. Remember that 'will' is often used to show
'willingness'): I'll have to speak to him / We'll have to have lunch and catch
up on all the gossip / They'll have to do something about it / I'll have to get
back to you on that.
As you can see, the differences between the present forms are
sometimes very small and very subtle. However, there is a huge difference
in the negative forms : We use 'mustn't' to express strong obligations NOT
to do something / We mustn't talk about it. It's confidential / I mustn't eat
chocolate. It's bad for me / You mustn't phone me at work. We aren't

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allowed personal calls / They mustn't see us talking or they'll suspect
something.
We use 'don't have to' (or 'haven't got to' in British English) to state that
there is NO obligation or necessity: We don't have to get there on time.
The boss is away today / I don't have to listen to this. I'm leaving / You
don't have to come if you don't want to / He doesn't have to sign anything
if he doesn't want to at this stage / I haven't got to go. Only if I want to

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 Zero conditional
When we talk about things that are generally or always true, we can
use: If/When/Unless + a present form + present simple or imperative: If he
gets there before me, ask him to wait / When you fly budget airline, you
have to pay for your drinks and snacks / Unless you need more space, a
small car is big enough for one person.
Note that we are not talking about a specific event but something which
is generally true. In the condition clause, we can use a variety of present
forms. In the result clause, there can only be the present simple or
imperative: If you visit London, go on the London Eye / If unemployment
is rising, people tend to stay in their present jobs / If you've done that, go
and have a coffee / When you go on holiday, take plenty of sun cream. It'll
be very hot / When I'm concentrating, please don't make so much noise /
When I've finished an article, I always ask Kate to read it through.
Notice that 'unless' means the same as 'if not': Unless he asks you
politely, refuse to do any more work on the project / Unless prices are
rising, it's not a good investment / Unless you've been there yourself, you
don't really understand how fantastic it is.

The first conditional

We use the First Conditional to talk about future events that are likely
to happen: If we take John, he'll be really pleased / If you give me some
money, I'll pay you back tomorrow / If they tell us they want it, we'll have
to give it to them / If Mary comes, she'll want to drive.
The 'if' clause can be used with different present forms: If I go to New
York again, I'll buy you a souvenir from the Empire State Building / If he's
feeling better, he'll come / If she hasn't heard the bad news yet, I'll tell her.
The "future clause" can contain 'going to' or the future perfect as well
as 'will': If I see him, I'm going to tell him exactly how angry I am / If we
don't get the contract, we'll have wasted a lot of time and money.
The "future clause" can also contain other modal verbs such as 'can' and
'must': If you go to New York, you must have the cheesecake in Lindy's / If
he comes, you can get a lift home with him.

Second conditional
The Second Conditional is used to talk about 'impossible' situations: If
we were in London today, we would be able to go to the concert in Hyde
Park / If I had millions dollars, I'd give a lot to charity / If there were no
hungry people in this world, it would be a much better place / If everyone
had clean water to drink, there would be a lot less disease.

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 Note that after I / he/ she /it we often use the subjunctive form 'were'
and not 'was'. (Some people think that 'were' is the only 'correct' form but
other people think 'was' is equally 'correct'.): If she were happy in her job,
she wouldn't be looking for another one / If I lived in Japan, I'd have sushi
every day / If they were to enter our market, we'd have big problems.
Note the form 'If I were you' which is often used to give advice: If I
were you, I'd look for a new place to live / If I were you, I'd go back to
school and get more qualifications.
The Second Conditional is also used to talk about 'unlikely' situations:
If I went to China, I'd visit the Great Wall / If I was the President, I'd
reduce taxes / If you were in my position, you'd understand.
Note that the choice between the first and the second conditional is
often a question of the speaker's attitude rather than of facts. Compare
these examples: Otto thinks these things are possible, Peter doesn't / Otto
– If I win the lottery, I'll buy a big house. Peter – If I won the lottery, I'd
buy a big house / Otto – If I get promoted, I'll throw a big party. Peter – If
I got promoted, I'd throw a big party / Otto – If my team win the Cup, I'll
buy champagne for everybody. Peter – If my team won the Cup, I'd buy
champagne for everybody.
Note that the 'If clause' can contain the past simple or the past
continuous: If I was still working in Brighton, I would commute by train /
If she were coming, she would be here by now / If they were thinking of
selling, I would want to buy.
Note that the main clause can contain 'would' 'could' or 'might: If I had
the chance to do it again, I would do it differently / If we met up for lunch,
we could go to that new restaurant / If I spoke to him directly, I might be
able to persuade him.
Also note that sometimes the 'if clause' is implied rather than spoken:
What would I do without you? ("if you weren't here") / Where would I get
one at this time of night? ("if I wanted one") / He wouldn't agree. ("if I
asked him")

Third conditional
We can use the Third Conditional to talk about 'impossible'
conditions, impossible because they are in the past and we cannot
change what has happened: If I had worked harder at school, I would
have got better grades / If I had had time, I would have gone to see him.
But I didn't have time / If we had bought that house, we would have had to
rebuild the kitchen / If we had caught the earlier train, we would have got
there on time but we were late.

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 Notice that the main clause can contain 'would', 'could' or 'might: If I
had seen him at the meeting, I would have asked him. (But he wasn't there
so I didn't) / If I had seen him at the meeting, I could have asked him. ( But
he wasn't there so it wasn't possible)/ If I had seen him at the meeting, I
might have asked him. (But I'm not sure. Perhaps if the opportunity had
arisen) / If I had paid more attention in class, I would have understood the
lesson.
Also notice that sometimes the 'if clause' is implied rather than
spoken: I'd have done it. ("if you had asked me but you didn't") / I
wouldn't have said that. ("if I'd been there.") / He wouldn't have let him get
away with that. ("if he had tried that with me.")

Wish
Let's start off with the easy part. 'I wish to' can mean the same as 'I
want to' but it is much, much more formal and much, much less common:
I wish to make a complaint / I wish to see the manager.
You can also use 'wish' with a noun to 'offer good wishes': I wish you
all the best in your new job / We wish you a merry Christmas.
Notice that when you want to offer good wishes using a verb, you must
use 'hope ' and not 'wish': We wish you the best of luck / We hope you
have the best of luck / I wish you a safe and pleasant journey / I hope you
have a safe and pleasant journey.
However, the main use of 'wish' is to say that we would like things to
be different from what they are, that we have regrets about the present
situation: I wish I was rich / He wishes he lived in Paris / They wish they'd
chosen a different leader.
Notice that the verb tense which follows 'I wish' is 'more in the past'
than the tense corresponding to its meaning: I'm too fat. I wish I was thin /
I never get invited to parties. I wish I got invited to parties / It's raining. I
wish it wasn't raining / I went to see the latest Star Wars film. I wish I
hadn't gone / I've eaten too much. I wish I hadn't eaten so much / I'm going
to visit her later. I wish I wasn't going to visit her later.
In the case of 'will' , where 'will' means 'show willingness' we use
'would': He won't help me. I wish he would help me / You're making too
much noise. I wish you would be quiet / You keep interrupting me. I wish
you wouldn't do that.
Where 'will' means a future event, we cannot use 'wish' and must use
'hope': There's a strike tomorrow. I hope some buses will still be running / I
hope everything will be fine in your new job.
In more formal English, we use the subjunctive form 'were' and not

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'was' after 'wish': I wish I were taller / I wish it were Saturday today / I
wish he were here.

Had better
We use “had better” plus the infinitive without “to” to give advice.
Although “had” is the past form of “have”, we use “had better” to give
advice about the present or future: You'd better tell her everything / I'd
better get back to work / We'd better meet early.
The negative form is “had better not”: You'd better not say anything /
I'd better not come / We'd better not miss the start of his presentation.
We use “had better” to give advice about specific situations, not general
ones. If you want to talk about general situations, you must use “should”:
You should brush your teeth before you go to bed / I shouldn't listen to
negative people / He should dress more appropriately for the office.
When we give advice about specific situations, it is also possible to use
“should”: You shouldn't say anything / I should get back to work / We
should meet early.
However, when we use “had better” there is a suggestion that if the
advice is not followed, that something bad will happen: You'd better do
what I say or else you will get into trouble / I'd better get back to work or
my boss will be angry with me / We'd better get to the airport by five or
else we may miss the flight.

Used to
Used to do. We use 'used to' for something that happened regularly
in the past but no longer happens: I used to smoke a packet a day but I
stopped two years ago / Ben used to travel a lot in his job but now, since
his promotion, he doesn't / I used to drive to work but now I take the bus.
We also use it for something that was true but no longer is: There used
to be a cinema in the town but now there isn't / She used to have really
long hair but she's had it all cut off / I didn't use to like him but now I do.
'Used to do' is different from 'to be used to doing' and 'to get used
to doing' to be used to doing. We use 'to be used to doing' to say that
something is normal, not unusual: I'm used to living on my own. I've done
it for quite a long time / Hans has lived in England for over a year so he is
used to driving on the left now / They've always lived in hot countries so
they aren't used to the cold weather here.
We use 'to get used to doing' to talk about the process of something
becoming normal for us: I didn't understand the accent when I first
moved here but I quickly got used to it / She has started working nights

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and is still getting used to sleeping during the day / I have always lived in
the country but now I'm beginning to get used to living in the city.

Asking questions
The basic rule for asking questions in English is invert the order of
the subject and the first auxiliary verb: It is snowing. = Is it snowing? /
He can speak German. = Can he speak German? / They have lived here a
long time. = Have they lived here a long time? / She will arrive at ten
o'clock. = Will she arrive at ten o'clock? / He was driving fast. = Was he
driving fast? / You have been smoking. = Have you been smoking?
If there is no auxiliary, use part of the verb 'to do': You speak fluent
French. = Do you speak fluent French? / She lives in Brussels. = Does she
live in Brussels? / They lived in Manchester. = Did they live in
Manchester? / He had an accident. = Did he have an accident?
Most questions with question words are made in the same way: How
often does she use it? / Why don't you come? / Where do you work? / How
many did you buy? / What time did you go? / Which one do you like? /
Whose car were you driving?
Note who, what and which can be the subject. Compare: Who is
coming to lunch? (who is the subject of the verb) - Who do you want to
invite to lunch? (you is the subject of the verb) - What happened? (what is
the subject of the verb) - What did you do? (you is the subject of the verb)
Note the position of the prepositions in these questions: Who did you
speak to? / What are you looking at? / Where does he come from?

Question tags
We use tags in spoken English but not in formal written English. They
are not really questions but are a way of asking the other person to make a
comment and so keep the conversation open.
Making a tag is very mechanical. To make a tag, use the first auxiliary.
If there is no auxiliary, use do, does or did. With a positive sentence,
make a negative tag and with a negative sentence, make a positive tag:
It's beautiful, isn't it? / He has been, hasn't he? / You can, can't you? / It
must be, mustn't it? / You know him, don’t you? / He finished it, didn't he?
/ He will come, won't he? / It isn't very good, is it? / It hasn't rained, has it?
/ It can't be, can it? / Jenny doesn't know James, does she? / They didn't
leave, did they? / He won’t do it, will he?
Notice these: There isn't an ATM here, is there? / Let's have a cup of
coffee, shall we?
To reply, use the same auxiliary: It's beautiful, isn't it? ~ Yes, it is. I

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think it's fabulous / It isn't very good, is it? ~ No, it isn't. In fact, it's
terrible.
Although, the rules are very simple and mechanical, in order to use
them easily in conversation, they have to be automatic. So you need to hear
and practice them very often.

Reported speech
We use reported speech when we are saying what other people say,
think or believe: He says he wants it / We think you are right / I believe he
loves her / Yesterday you said you didn't like it but now you do! / She told
me he had asked her to marry him / I told you she was ill / We thought he
was in Australia.
When we are reporting things in the present, future or present perfect
we don't change the tense: He thinks he loves her / I'll tell her you are
coming / He has said he'll do it.
When we tell people what someone has said in the past, we generally
make the tense 'more in the past': You look very nice. = I told him he
looked very nice / He's working in Siberia now. = She told me he was
working in Siberia now / Polly has bought a new car. = She said Polly had
bought a new car / Jo can't come for the weekend. = She said Jo couldn't
come for the weekend / Paul called and left a message. = He told me Paul
had called and had left me a message / I'll give you a hand. = He said he
would give me a hand.
However, when we are reporting something that was said in the past
but is still true, it is not obligatory to make the tense 'more in the past'. The
choice is up to the speaker. For example: (a) "The train doesn't stop here.":
He said the train doesn't stop here / He said the train didn't stop here. (b) "I
like Sarah.": She said she likes Sarah / She said she liked Sarah.
When we are reporting what was said, we sometimes have to change
other words in the sentence. We have to change the pronoun if we are
reporting what someone else said. Compare these two sentences. In each
case the person actually said "I don't want to go": I said I didn't want to go
/ Bill said he didn't want to go.
We have to change words referring to 'here and now' if we are reporting
what was said in a different place or time. Compare these two sentences. In
each case the person actually said "I'll be there at ten tomorrow": (If it is
later the same day) He said he would be there at ten tomorrow / (If it is the
next day) He said he would be there at ten today.
Now compare these two sentences: (If we are in a different place) He
said he would be there tomorrow at ten / (If we are in the place he is

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coming to) He said he would be here at ten tomorrow.
We also use reported speech when we are saying what other people
asked or wanted to know. We do not use do or question marks in indirect
questions : "What time is it?" = He asked me what time it was / "Why
hasn't he come? = She wondered why he hadn't come / "When will you be
arriving?" = He wanted to know when we would be arriving / "What were
you doing?" = They questioned him about what he had been doing.
We use the same structure when we report answers: "147 Oak Street."
= I told him what my address was / "I didn't have time to do it." = She
explained why she hadn't done it / "Look at this dress and bag." = She
showed me what she had bought / "Put the paper here and press this
button." = He demonstrated how the scanner worked.
Yes/no questions are reported with if or whether: Do you want a ride? =
Mike asked me if I wanted a ride / Are you coming? = They wanted to
know if I was coming / Will you be here later? = She asked me whether I
would be here later.

Suppose
We often use 'suppose' to mean 'imagine' or 'guess': I suppose you'll
be meeting Danielle when you go to Paris? / When you weren't there, I
supposed you must have been held up / I suppose you two know each
other?
Notice that 'suppose' is not normally used in the continuous form. We
DO NOT usually say 'I am supposing': Now I suppose we'll have to do
something else / We're waiting for John and I suppose he must be stuck in
traffic / At this moment I suppose it doesn't matter.
Notice that for 'imagine not' or 'guess not' that we make 'suppose'
negative, not the other verb: I don't suppose you know where Mary is? / I
don't suppose he'll do anything / I don't suppose you have a Nokia phone
charger here?
When responding to an idea with 'suppose', you can use 'so' to avoid
repeating the idea that has already been expressed: Is Susan coming to
this meeting? ~ I suppose so.
'Supposed to be' can be used to mean 'it is said/believed': The new
James Bond movie is supposed to be excellent / He is supposed to have
been rude to Mark but I don't believe it / It is supposed to be the best
restaurant in town.
'Supposed to be' can also be used to talk about what is arranged,
intended or expected. It is a bit like 'should': I'm supposed to get to work
by 8 / John is supposed to turn off all the lights when he leaves / I'm

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supposed to pay my rent on the first of the month / It's not supposed to be
here.
Often there is a suggestion that the action 'supposed to' happen does
not actually happen: I'm supposed to be there before 8 but I'm often late /
You were supposed to phone me / I'm supposed to be getting on a plane to
Tokyo at this very minute.
'Not supposed to' often suggests that something is not allowed or
prohibited: You're not supposed to smoke in here / I'm not supposed to tell
you / We're not supposed to use the Internet for personal reasons at work.
'Suppose' can also be used as a conjunction to mean 'what if'. Notice
that the verb which follows it is sometimes, but not always, put 'more in
the past': Suppose we take the earlier train to Munich? It would give us
more time there / Suppose we took the plane instead? That would give us
even more time / There's nobody in reception to let our visitors in. Suppose
I sit there until somebody comes? / I'm going to ask him for a pay increase.
~ Suppose he said 'no'? What would you do?

Have something done

If you 'have something done', you get somebody else to do something
for you: I'm going to have my hair cut / She's having her house
redecorated / I'm having a copy of the report sent to you
In informal English, we can replace 'have' by 'get': We're getting a new
telephone system installed / They will be getting the system repaired as
quickly as they can / I got the bill sent direct to the company
We can also use 'have/got something done' in situations where
something bad has happened to people or their possessions. This is not
something they wanted to happen: John had all his money stolen from his
hotel bedroom / We had our car damaged by a falling tree / I got my nose
broken playing rugby.

Should have
We can use 'should have' to talk about past events that did not
happen: I should have let her know what was happening but I forgot / He
should have sent everybody a reminder by email / They should have
remembered that their guests don't eat pork.
We can also use 'should have' to speculate about events that may or
may not have happened: She should have got the letter this morning. I
expect she'll give us a call about it later / He should have arrived at his
office by now. Let's try ringing him / They should have all read that first
email by this stage. It's time to send the next one.

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 We can use ' should not have' to speculate negatively about what may
or may not have happened: She shouldn't have left work yet. I'll call her
office / He shouldn't have boarded his plane yet. We can probably still get
hold of him / They shouldn't have sent the report off for printing yet. There
is still time to make changes.
We can also use 'should not have' to regret past actions: I shouldn't
have shouted at you. I apologize / We shouldn't have left the office so late.
We should have anticipated this bad traffic / They shouldn't have sacked
him. He was the most creative person on their team.

Can have / Could have

We can use 'could have' to talk about something somebody was
capable of doing but didn't do: I could have gone to Oxford University
but I preferred Harvard / She could have married him but she didn't want to
/ They could have bought a house here 20 years ago but chose not to.
Often, there is a sense of criticism: You could have phoned me to let
me know / They could have helped me instead of just sitting there / I could
have done more to help you. Sorry.
We can use 'couldn't have' to talk about something we were not
capable of doing: I couldn't have managed without you / I couldn't have
got the job. He was always going to appoint his nephew / I couldn't have
enjoyed myself more. Thank you for a lovely day.
We can use 'could have' to speculate about what has happened. (We
can also use 'may have' or 'might have' in these situations): She could have
taken the earlier train / Simon could have told her / They could have
overheard what we said.
We can also use 'can have' to speculate about what has happened but
only in questions and negative sentences and with words such as
'hardly', 'never' and 'only': Can she have forgotten about our meeting? /
He can't have seen us / They can hardly have thought that I was not
interested in the job.
We can also use 'could have' to speculate about something that didn't
happen: You could have broken your neck, jumping out the window like
that / He could have hurt somebody, throwing a bottle out of the window
like that / I could have done well in my exam if I'd worked harder.
You can also use 'could have' to talk about possible present situations
that have not happened: I could have been earning a lot as an accountant
but the work was just too boring / He could have been Prime Minister now
but he got involved in a big financial scandal / They could have been the
market leaders now if they had taken his advice.

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 Will be doing
We can use 'will be doing' to talk about something that will be in
progress at a particular moment in the future: This time next week, I'll
be sitting on the beach in Barbados / I'll be thinking about you all back in
the office – and I'll be laughing / We'll be enjoying ourselves too, boss. We
won't be doing any work while you are not here.
We can use 'will be doing' to talk about future events that are fixed
or decided: I'll be visiting your country on a regular basis. In fact, I'm
going to be coming next month / He'll be looking after the factory until we
can appoint a new manager / They'll be thinking about this very carefully
over the next few months.
We can use 'will be doing' to predict what is happening now: Try
phoning his hotel. He'll probably still be having breakfast / They'll be
deciding who gets the contract at this very moment. I'm very nervous /
She's not in her office. She'll be having lunch in the canteen.
We can use 'will be doing' to ask extremely politely, and with no
pressure, about future plans: Will you be eating with us this evening? /
Will you be needing anything else? / Will they be joining us for dinner?

Will have done

We can use 'will have done' to talk about what will have been
achieved by a certain moment in time: We'll have been in these offices
for eight years next month / She'll have visited ten countries in twelve days
by the time she gets back / I'll have finished this project by Friday.
If we want to emphasize the continuity of the activity, we can use the
continuous form: I'll have been working here for 35 years by the time I
retire / She'll have been driving for more than fifteen hours straight by the
time she gets here / They'll have been working with us for 15 years by the
end of this year.
We can also use 'will have done' to predict what we think has already
happened at present: He'll have already read the report by now. Too late
to change it / She'll have boarded her plane. It's too late to contact her /
They'll have decided by now. We should hear the result today or tomorrow.

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 THE COMMON LAW AND CIVIL LAW TRADITIONS
Most nations today follow one of two major legal
traditions: common law or civil law. The common law
tradition emerged in England during the Middle Ages and was
applied within British colonies across continents. The civil law
tradition developed in continental Europe at the same time and
was applied in the colonies of European imperial powers such
as Spain and Portugal. Civil law was also adopted in the
nineteenth and twentieth centuries by countries formerly
possessing distinctive legal traditions, such as Russia and
Japan, that sought to reform their legal systems in order to
gain economic and political power comparable to that of
Western European nation-states.
To an American familiar with the terminology and process
of our legal system, which is based on English common law,
civil law systems can be unfamiliar and confusing. Even
though England had many profound cultural ties to the rest of
Europe in the Middle Ages, its legal tradition developed
differently from that of the continent for a number of historical
reasons, and one of the most fundamental ways in which they
diverged was in the establishment of judicial decisions as the
basis of common law and legislative decisions as the basis of
civil law. Before looking at the history, let’s examine briefly
what this means.
Common law is generally un-codified. This means that
there is no comprehensive compilation of legal rules and
statutes. While common law does rely on some scattered
statutes, which are legislative decisions, it is largely based on
precedent, meaning the judicial decisions that have already
been made in similar cases. These precedents are maintained
over time through the records of the courts as well as
historically documented in collections of case law known as
yearbooks and reports. The precedents to be applied in the

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decision of each new case are determined by the presiding
judge. As a result, judges have an enormous role in shaping
American and British law. Common law functions as an
adversarial system, a contest between two opposing parties
before a judge who moderates. A jury of ordinary people
without legal training decides on the facts of the case. The
judge then determines the appropriate sentence based on the
jury’s verdict.
Civil Law, in contrast, is codified. Countries with civil law
systems have comprehensive, continuously updated legal
codes that specify all matters capable of being brought before
a court, the applicable procedure, and the appropriate
punishment for each offense. Such codes distinguish between
different categories of law: substantive law establishes which
acts are subject to criminal or civil prosecution, procedural
law establishes how to determine whether a particular action
constitutes a criminal act, and penal law establishes the
appropriate penalty. In a civil law system, the judge’s role is to
establish the facts of the case and to apply the provisions of
the applicable code. Though the judge often brings the formal
charges, investigates the matter, and decides on the case, he or
she works within a framework established by a
comprehensive, codified set of laws. The judge’s decision is
consequently less crucial in shaping civil law than the
decisions of legislators and legal scholars who draft and
interpret the codes.

Historical Development of Civil Law

The term civil law derives from the Latin ius civile, the law
applicable to all Roman cives or citizens. Its origins and model
are to be found in the monumental compilation of Roman law
commissioned by the Emperor Justinian in the sixth century
CE. While this compilation was lost to the West within

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decades of its creation, it was rediscovered and made the basis
for legal instruction in eleventh-century Italy and in the
sixteenth century came to be known as Corpus iuris civilis.
Succeeding generations of legal scholars throughout Europe
adapted the principles of ancient Roman law in the Corpus
iuris civilis to contemporary needs. Medieval scholars of
Catholic church law, or canon law, were also influenced by
Roman law scholarship as they compiled existing religious
legal sources into their own comprehensive system of law and
governance for the Church, an institution central to medieval
culture, politics, and higher learning. By the late Middle Ages,
these two laws, civil and canon, were taught at most
universities and formed the basis of a shared body of legal
thought common to most of Europe. The birth and evolution
of the medieval civil law tradition based on Roman law was
thus integral to European legal development. It offered a store
of legal principles and rules invested with the authority of
ancient Rome and centuries of distinguished jurists, and it held
out the possibility of a comprehensive legal code providing
substantive and procedural law for all situations.
As civil law came into practice throughout Europe, the role
of local custom as a source of law became increasingly
important—particularly as growing European states sought to
unify and organize their individual legal systems. Throughout
the early modern period, this desire generated scholarly
attempts to systematize scattered, disparate legal provisions
and local customary laws and bring them into harmony with
rational principles of civil law and natural law. Emblematic of
these attempts is the Dutch jurist Hugo Grotius’ 1631 work,
Introduction to Dutch Jurisprudence, which synthesized
Roman law and Dutch customary law into a cohesive whole.
In the eighteenth century, the reforming aspirations of
Enlightenment rulers aligned with jurists’ desire to rationalize

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the law to produce comprehensive, systematic legal codes
including Austria’s 1786 Code of Joseph II and Complete
Civil Code of 1811, Prussia’s Complete Territorial Code of
1794, and France’s Civil Code (known as the Napoleonic
Code) of 1804. Such codes, shaped by the Roman law
tradition, are the models of today’s civil law systems.

Historical development of English Common Law

English common law emerged from the changing and
centralizing powers of the king during the Middle Ages. After
the Norman Conquest in 1066, medieval kings began to
consolidate power and establish new institutions of royal
authority and justice. New forms of legal action established by
the crown functioned through a system of writs, or royal
orders, each of which provided a specific remedy for a specific
wrong. The system of writs became so highly formalized that
the laws the courts could apply based on this system often
were too rigid to adequately achieve justice. In these cases, a
further appeal to justice would have to be made directly to the
king. This difficulty gave birth to a new kind of court, the
court of equity, also known as the court of Chancery because
it was the court of the king’s chancellor. Courts of equity were
authorized to apply principles of equity based on many
sources (such as Roman law and natural law) rather than to
apply only the common law, to achieve a just outcome.
Courts of law and courts of equity thus functioned
separately until the writs system was abolished in the
mid-nineteenth century. Even today, however, some U.S.
states maintain separate courts of equity. Likewise, certain
kinds of writs, such as warrants and subpoenas, still exist in
the modern practice of common law. An example is the writ of
habeas corpus, which protects the individual from unlawful
detention. Originally an order from the king obtained by a

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prisoner or on his behalf, a writ of habeas corpus summoned
the prisoner to court to determine whether he was being
detained under lawful authority. Habeas corpus developed
during the same period that produced the 1215 Magna Carta,
or Great Charter, which declared certain individual liberties,
one of the most famous being that a freeman could not be
imprisoned or punished without the judgment of his peers
under the law of the land—thus establishing the right to a jury
trial.
In the Middle Ages, common law in England coexisted, as
civil law did in other countries, with other systems of law.
Church courts applied canon law, urban and rural courts
applied local customary law, Chancery and maritime courts
applied Roman law. Only in the seventeenth century did
common law triumph over the other laws, when Parliament
established a permanent check on the power of the English
king and claimed the right to define the common law and
declare other laws subsidiary to it. This evolution of a national
legal culture in England was contemporaneous with the
development of national legal systems in civil law countries
during the early modern period. But where legal humanists
and Enlightenment scholars on the continent looked to shared
civil law tradition as well as national legislation and custom,
English jurists of this era took great pride in the uniqueness of
English legal customs and institutions.
That pride, perhaps mixed with envy inspired by the
contemporary European movement toward codification,
resulted in the first systematic, analytic treatise on English
common law: William Blackstone’s (1723-1780)
Commentaries on the Laws of England. In American law,
Blackstone’s work now functions as the definitive source for
common law precedents prior to the existence of the United
States.

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Civil law influences in American law
The American legal system remains firmly within the
common law tradition brought to the North American colonies
from England. Yet traces of the civil law tradition and its
importance in the hemisphere maybe found within state legal
traditions across the United States. Most prominent is the
example of Louisiana, where state law is based on civil law as
a result of Louisiana’s history as a French and Spanish
territory prior to its purchase from France in 1803. Many of
the southwestern states reflect traces of civil law influence in
their state constitutions and codes from their early legal
heritage as territories of colonial Spain and Mexico.
California, for instance, has a state civil code organized into
sections that echo traditional Roman civil law categories
pertaining to persons, things, and actions; yet the law
contained within California’s code is mostly common law.
And while Blackstone prevails as the principal source for
pre-American precedent in the law, it is interesting to note that
there is still room for the influence of Roman civil law in
American legal tradition. The founding fathers and their
contemporaries educated in the law knew not only the work of
English jurists such as Blackstone, but also the work of the
great civil law jurists and theorists. Thomas Jefferson, for
example, owned several editions of Justinian’s Institutes, and
praised the first American translated edition from 1812, with
its notes and annotations on the parallels with English law, for
its usefulness to American lawyers. Indeed, a famous example
of its use is the 1805 case of Pierson v. Post, in which a New
York judge, deciding on a case that involved a property
dispute between two hunters over a fox, cited a Roman law
principle on the nature and possession of wild animals from
the Institutes as the precedent for his decision. Today Pierson

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v. Post is often one of the first property law cases taught to
American law students. United States v. Robbins, a 1925
California case that went to the Supreme Court and paved the
way for the state’s modern community property laws, was
based upon a concept of community property that California
inherited not from English common law but from legal
customs of Visigothic Spain that dated to the fifth century CE.
Cases such as these illuminate the rich history that unites and
divides the civil and common law traditions and are a
fascinating reminder of the ancient origins of modern law.

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