Introduction to Contracts Legal English

new contract comes into existence
Requirements for forming a contract

Agreement = offer + acceptance
Consideration
The persons who have formed a contract are the parties to the contract

to as its terms
Contractual terms can be classified as:

Rights
Obligations

perform their obligations
If a party fully performs its obligations,

it is

perform their obligations.
If a party fully performs its obligations,

it is discharged from the contract.
If a party does not fully perform its obligations, it has breached the contract.

party may sue the breaching party for breach of contract

The injured party may request various remedies:
Damages
Specific performance
Injunction

reach an agreement
To express that parties have reached agreement,

use the verb “to agree” + an infinitive describing what the parties have agreed to do
“Smith agreed to sell his house to Jones”
An agreement consists of two parts:
Offer
Acceptance

contract
How to express that an offer has been made:

Two verbs express that an offer has been made:
“to offer”
“to make an offer”
Combine these verbs with an infinitive that describes what the offering party offered to do:
“Stephen offered to sell his car to Michael.”
“Stephen made an offer to buy Michael’s car.”
Once an offer has been made:
The person who made the offer is the Offeror
The person who received the offer is the Offeree

has the power to accept the offer
How to express that

an offer has been accepted:
Two verbs can express acceptance:
to accept
to assent (+ to)
Combine these verbs with the noun “offer,” and you may also briefly describe the offer that has been accepted:
“Smith accepted Jones’s offer to sell his car.”
“Smith assented to Jones’s offer to sell his car.”

not accept the offer
“Smith rejected Jones’s offer (to sell

his car).”
Counteroffer = the Offeree attempts to change the offer, even if he claims to accept
To express that a counteroffer has been made, apply the same rules used with offers to the verb “to counteroffer” or “to make a counteroffer:”
“Smith counteroffered (to buy Jones’s car) for $100 less.”
“Smith made a counteroffer (to buy Jones’s car) for $100 less.”
Once the Offeree has accepted an offer, the parties have reached agreement

not accept the offer
“Smith rejected Jones’s offer (to sell

his car).”
Counteroffer = the Offeree attempts to change the offer, even if he claims to accept
To express that a counteroffer has been made, apply the same rules used with offers to the verb “to counteroffer” or “to make a counteroffer:”
“Smith counteroffered (to buy Jones’s car) for $100 less.”
“Smith made a counteroffer (to buy Jones’s car) for $100 less.”
Once the Offeree has accepted an offer, the parties have reached agreement

Consideration = something of value
In common law jurisdictions, we

say that each party must “offer some consideration” to the other party
How to express that consideration is present
There is NO verb form of the legal term “consideration”
“The contract/agreement is supported by consideration.”
“The parties reached an agreement and consideration was present.”

have formed a contract
Verbs that express a contract has been

formed:
to form: “The parties have formed a contract.”
to exist: “A valid contract exists between the parties.”
to enter + into: “The parties have entered into a valid contract.”
to commit oneself + to: “The parties have committed themselves to construct a house.”
to agree: “The parties agreed to construct a house.”

the parties
The parties must perform their obligations under the

contract
If one party does not perform its obligations, the other party may enforce the contract in court
How the consequences of contract formation are expressed:
“The parties formed a valid, binding contract.”
“The parties have entered into a valid and enforceable contract.”