MMLS Grammar PDF

Faculty of Applied Communication (FAC) PLE 0042 English for Law Foundation for Law ONLINE NOTES Grammar PLE0042 English for Law Grammar COHESIVE DEVICES Cohesive devices...

Faculty of Applied Communication (FAC) PLE 0042 English for Law Foundation for Law ONLINE NOTES Grammar PLE0042 English for Law Grammar COHESIVE DEVICES Cohesive devices are words or phrases writers used to join different sentences or paragraphs in a text so that these sentences or paragraphs fit together to form unity and cohesion. These words or phrases are used to indicate relationships between ideas to achieve an organised, clear and smooth flow of ideas which are easy for readers to follow. Without these devices, ideas in a text would become disconnected or disjointed, thus impairing readers’ understanding. Examples of Common Cohesive Devices Usage Examples To show sequence or order first, second, third, next, to begin with, finally, lastly, following this To give examples for instance, for example, namely, to illustrate To show contrast on the contrary, in contrast, on the other hand, in comparison, conversely, however, nevertheless To show similarity likewise, similarly, equally, in the same way To show consequence as a result, consequently, as a consequence, hence, therefore, thus, under these circumstances To show addition again, in addition, additionally, furthermore, moreover, besides this/that, apart from this/that To sum up in short, in brief, in conclusion, to conclude, in summary, on the whole To emphasise indeed, certainly, in fact, undoubtedly, plainly, obviously, undeniably _____________________________________________________________________________________ FAC 2/10 PLE0042 English for Law Grammar REPORTED SPEECH 1. Expressions of time and place in indirect speech Direct Indirect Today That day Yesterday The day before Two days before The day before yesterday Tomorrow The next day / the following day The day after tomorrow In two days’ time Next week / year etc. The following week / year etc. Last week / year etc. The previous week / year etc. A year etc. ago A year before / the previous year “I saw her at the crime scene the day before yesterday,” he said. He said that he had seen her at the crime scene two days before. “I’ll testify as a witness tomorrow,” he said. He said that he would testify as a witness the next day. “The accused is going to plead guilty in the trial next week,” the lawyer said. The lawyer said that the accused was going to plead guilty in the trial the following week. The witness said, “The deceased died a year ago.” The witness said that the deceased had died a year before / the previous year. 2. Here can become there but only when it is clear what place is meant: He said, “I’m here to conduct a negotiation between my client and the defendant.” He said that he was there to conduct a negotiation between his client and the defendant. 3. say, tell and alternative introductory verbs: The advocate said, “I’ve just obtained a new hearing date.” The advocate said he had just obtained a new hearing date. “The law has been amended,” he said to me. He told me that the law had been amended. _____________________________________________________________________________________ FAC 3/10 PLE0042 English for Law Grammar 4. Questions in indirect speech. Example: The prosecutor asked her, “Where were you on 12 March 2013?” The prosecutor asked where she had been on 12 March 2013. - Tenses, pronouns, possessive adjectives, adverbs of time and place change. - The interrogative form of the verb changes to affirmative form. The question mark (?) is therefore omitted in indirect questions. More Examples: He said to the lady, “Did you utter the defamatory words?” He asked the lady whether she had uttered the defamatory words. “Who lives next door?” he said He asked who lived next door. She said, “What happened to the victim?” She asked what had happened to the victim. - If the direct question begins with a question word (when, where, who, how, why etc) the question is repeated in the indirect question: Example: He said to her, “Why didn’t you settle the case out of court?” He asked (her) why she hadn’t settled the case out of court. She said, “Who is the guardian of the child?” She asked who the guardian of the child was. - If there is no question word, if or whether must be used: Example: “Are you the sole owner of the property?” he asked her. He asked if / whether she was the sole owner of the property. 5. Suggestions Example: “Shall we file a petition?” he asked. He suggested filing a petition. “Why don’t you drop the case?” Hanson asked. Hanson suggested dropping the case. _____________________________________________________________________________________ FAC 4/10 PLE0042 English for Law Grammar.6. Commands, requests, advice, reminders The following verbs can be used: advise, ask, beg, command, encourage, instruct, forbid, invite, order, recommend, remind, request, tell, urge and warn. Example: “Would / Could you show me the evidence, please?” he said. (Request) He asked me to show him the evidence. “Please refer to the affidavit,” the judge told the lawyer. (Instructions) The judge instructed the lawyer to refer to the affidavit. “Don’t forget that the onus is on the prosecution to prove the case beyond reasonable doubt,” said the judge to the prosecutor. (Reminder) The judge reminded the prosecutor not to forget that the onus was on the prosecution to prove the case beyond reasonable doubt. “You should initiate a suit of negligence against the company,” said the lawyer to his client. (Advice) The lawyer advised his client to initiate a civil suit of negligence against the company. “Please file a defence by next week,” said the judge to the accused’s counsel. (Order) The judge ordered the accused’s counsel to file a defence by the following week. “You had better abide by the rules,” said the solicitor to her client. (Warning) The solicitor warned her client to abide by the rules. _____________________________________________________________________________________ FAC 5/10 PLE0042 English for Law Grammar MODAL AUXILIARIES The modal auxiliaries in English are: can, could, had better, may, might, must, ought to, shall, should, will, would. Modal auxiliaries generally express a speaker’s attitudes, or “moods”. For example, modals can express that a speaker feels something is necessary, advisable, permissible, possible, or probable; and in addition, they can convey the strength of these attitudes. Each modal has more than one meaning or use. MODAL Modals do not take a final –s, even when the subject is AUXILIARIES he, she or it. can do it. CORRECT: He can do it. could do it. had better do it. INCORRECT: He cans do it. may do it. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I might do it. We must do it. ought to do it. Modals are followed immediately by the simple form of You shall do it. should do it. a verb. They will do it. CORRECT: he can do it. He + would do it. INCORRECT: he can to do it / he can does it / he can She did it. It The only exception is ought, which is followed by an infinitive (to + the simple form of a verb) CORRECT: She ought to go to the lab. _____________________________________________________________________________________ FAC 6/10 PLE0042 English for Law Grammar SUMMARY CHART OF MODALS MODAL USES Examples may 1) polite request May I call the first witness? 2) formal permission You may begin cross-examining the witness now. 3) less than 50% He may be convicted. I’m not certain. certainty might less than 50% He might be convicted. I’m not certain. certainty should/ought 1) obligation Lawyers should/ought to provide the best legal to advice to their clients. 2) expectation Since she is the main witness, she should/ought to be present in court. must 1) strong necessity You must prove both actus rea and mens rea in criminal cases. 2) prohibition You must not contempt the court and judges. (negative) 3) 95% certainty With all the strong evidence, the plaintiff must be confident to win the case. have to 1) necessity Members of Parliament have to adhere to the standing orders of the Lower House. 2) lack of necessity In strict liability cases, the plaintiff does not (negative) have to prove fault on the defendant’s part. will 1) 100% certainty With a team of experienced lawyers, he will win the case. 3) polite request Will you please let me have the details of the beneficiaries of your will? can 1) ability / He can speak confidently and argue possibility convincingly. 2) informal You can obtain a copy of the land search from permission my clerk. 3) informal polite Can I have the details of the property? request could 1) past ability My client could walk before he became paralysed after the car accident. 2) polite request Could I sign the documents tomorrow? _____________________________________________________________________________________ FAC 7/10 PLE0042 English for Law Grammar 3) less than 50% He could be convicted. I’m not certain. certainty would 1) polite request Would you please tell the court why you were there when the incident took place? 2) preference We would rather remain silent than give an uncertain answer to our disadvantage. shall 1) polite question to Shall we negotiate a peaceful out-of-court make a suggestion settlement? 2) future with “I” or Tomorrow, we shall propose to the other party “we” as subject to amend several terms and conditions in the contract. TYPES OF SENTENCES One of the features of a good writer is the ability to use a variety of sentence types. The various types of sentences include simple, compound and complex sentences. The simple sentence is an important tool to have in your writing task, but it is limited in the ways it can be used. Compound and complex sentences give you additional alternatives for expressing ideas, usually in more precise ways. 1. Simple Sentence A Simple sentence is a sentence that has only one independent clause. It expresses one idea only. Lina works in a legal firm. A simple sentence has at least [subject] [verb] one subject and one verb. Lina and her best friend work in a legal firm. A simple sentence can have a [2 subjects] compound subject The lawyer represented and defended the accused in the A simple sentence can have a armed robbery case. compound verb [2 verbs] 2. Compound Sentence A compound sentence is a sentence that has 2 or more independent clauses of generally equal importance. Example: independent clause 1 independent clause 2 We lost the case, but we intended to appeal against the court decision. _____________________________________________________________________________________ FAC 8/10 PLE0042 English for Law Grammar independent clause 1 independent clause 2 Many people identify as animal lovers; they support legal rights for animals. There are 3 ways to join the clauses: 1. with a comma followed by a We lost the case, but we intended to appeal against the coordinator court decision. [ind. Clause], + [coordinator] + [ind. Clause] Coordinators: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so. 2. with a semicolon followed by a We lost the case; however, we intended to appeal against conjunctive adverb and a comma the court decision. [ind. Clause]; + [conj. Adverb], + [ ind. Clause] Common conjunctive adverb: however, besides, accordingly, meanwhile, next, then, similarly, also, furthermore, moreover, nevertheless 3. with a semicolon Many people identify as animal lovers; they support legal rights for animals. [ind. Clause] + ; [ ind. Clause] 3. Complex Sentence A complex sentence is a sentence that includes one independent clause and one (or more) subordinate clause(s). The more important idea is placed in the independent clause, and the less important idea is placed in the dependent clause. Example: independent clause dependent clause Many countries are working towards censorship although the people press for more freedom. There are 3 kinds of subordinate clauses: adverb; adjective and noun clauses. A variety of connecting words may be used to join these clauses. Adverb dependent clause Types of relationship a) Time - after, as, before, since, ▪ Since there was insufficient evidence, the suspect until, whenever, when, while was acquitted. b) Cause or reason - as, because, ▪ We are against the death penalty because it does since, whereas not help to reduce crime rates. c) Purpose or result - so that, that, in order that ▪ The people staged a protest so that the _____________________________________________________________________________________ FAC 9/10 PLE0042 English for Law Grammar d) Condition - although, though, government hears their voice. even though, while, unless, if, provided ▪ Although domestic violence is on the rise, there is no effective law to curb it. *Adverb clause can appear either before or after the independent clause. If it comes before the independent clause, a comma follows it. If it comes after the independent clause, no comma is needed. Adjective dependent clause (relative Pronouns) a) Animals and things - which, that ▪ There must be ways to stop the spread of viral b) People - who, whom that posts which do not always tell the truth. c) Place - where d) Possessives - whose * The adjective clause functions as an adjective: it e) Reason - why, that modifies a noun or a pronoun. f) Time - when Noun clause Common connective words: ▪ The lawmaker said that gun violence is becoming Reported speech – that embedded almost routine in the country. questions with the use of how, when, [Sub.] [v] [object] whether, why, and all other question words. * A dependent noun clause can function as either a subject or an object of the sentence. 4. Compound-Complex Sentence It is a combination of two or more independent clauses and one (or more) dependent clauses. Many combinations are possible, and their punctuation requires careful attention. Example: dependent clause independent clause 1 independent clause 2 Although a new law has been enacted, many are against it and want it to be repealed. _____________________________________________________________________________________ FAC 10/10