Curs 7

Curs 7
CIVIL PROCEDURE

Unitatea de învăţare:

1. Civil procedure
2. Grammar: the pronoun (personal, possessive, reflexive, emphatic)

Bibliografie:

1. Badea, Simina, Legal English - A Practical Approach, Ediţia a II-a, Editura Universitaria,
Craiova, 2016, p. 95-96.
2. Badea, Simina, English for Law Students – Curs practic de terminologie juridică şi limba
engleză, Ediţia a III-a revăzută, Editura Universitaria, Craiova, 2010, p. 115-119.
3. Lister, R.; K. Veth, Dicţionar juridic român-englez, englez-român, Traducere: Roxana
Dinulescu, Editura Niculescu, Bucureşti, 2010.
4. *** Oxford Dictionary of Law, 6th edition, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2006.

Obiectivele modulului
Dupǎ studiul acestei unitǎţi de învǎţare veţi reuşi sǎ:
 vă familiarizaţi cu termenii esenţiali din cadrul procedurii civile
 aprofundaţi elementele predate prin activităţi aplicative
 vă dezvoltaţi abilităţile de comunicare în limba engleză pe tema dată
 vă actualizaţi cunoştinţele de gramatică (pronumele)

Procedural systems

There are two main procedural systems:

- the inquisitorial or investigatory system in which the judge plays an important role in
conducting a case.
- the adversary or contradictory or accusatorial system in which the judge acts as a
referee, playing a passive role and checking that everything takes place according to the rules
of a fair trial. Procedure is of paramount importance because of the legacy of forms of actions.
For a very long time the system of England was adversary, but new rules of procedure
have given judges more powers, therefore England has come closer to the inquisitorial
system, but still is accusatorial.

How civil law is enforced in England and Wales

A person who believes that another individual or organisation has committed a civil
wrong can complete a claim form and send it to the appropriate court. The County Court,
which is based at over 200 locations, deals with lower-value cases, whereas the High Court,
which is in London, hears most higher-value cases. In the County and High Courts, each case
is heard by a single judge.
The person who starts a civil case is called a claimant, and he or she has the burden of
proving that the other party (the defendant) committed a civil wrong. If the claimant is
successful, the usual remedy is damages: a sum of money paid as compensation by the
defendant to the claimant. Other remedies include court orders prohibiting a person from
behaving in a certain way.
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Either party to a civil case may appeal to a higher court against the decision.
It is important to note that the courts are strongly supporting alternatives to litigation,
in particular alternative dispute resolution (ADR) initiatives.

I The Personal Pronoun

The forms of the personal pronoun are:

N sg. I, you, he, she, it
pl. we, you, they
D/ Ac sg. me, you, him, her, it
pl. us, you, them

I 1. Uses of IT

It is used:
1. to talk about a thing or animal:
e.g. Where is my pencil?
I left it on the table.
But: It can be used of people in sentences such as:
Who is that/ Who is it? (demonstrative it)
It’s the postman.

2. in expressions of time, weather, distance, temperature (impersonal it):

e.g. It’s ten o’clock.
It is snowing.
It’s five years since I last saw him.

3. to emphasize a word or a phrase (emphatic it):

e.g. It was Tom who helped me.

4. to introduce a subject clause (or an infinitive) and “anticipate” the real subject
(introductory – anticipatory it):
e.g. It is certain that prices will go up.
It is easy to learn this rule.

I 2. You, we and they used as indefinite pronouns

You and they are used to speak about people in general:

e.g. You can’t do much without money.
They say (= people say) it is going to rain.
They can also mean “the authority concerned”, i.e. the government/ one’s employers/
the police etc:
e.g. They want to build a new hospital.
We has three uses: “royal” we (used by rulers), “editorial“ we (used by authors,
lecturers etc), or to replace you (when talking to children or the sick).

II The Possessive Pronoun and the Possessive Adjective

II 1. The Possessive Pronoun

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The possessive pronoun replaces both the object that is possessed and the person who
possesses it. The forms of the possessive pronoun are:
First person: sg. mine pl. ours
Second person: sg./pl. yours
Third person: sg. his, hers, its pl. theirs
e.g. Is this your pencil?
No, it’s not mine.
Ask Mary if it is hers.
Is it yours, Mary?
Possessive pronouns can occur in a double genitive form:
e.g. a friend of mine = one of my friends

II 2. The Possessive Adjective

The possessive adjective replaces the person who possesses a thing and determines the
noun that expresses the possessed object.
The forms of the possessive adjective are:
First person: sg. my, pl. our
Second person: sg./pl. your
Third person: sg. his, her, its pl. their
Note: For emphasis or contrast, own or very own can follow the possessive adjective:
e.g. her own idea
I’m on my own = I’m alone

III The Demonstrative Pronoun and the Demonstrative Adjective

III 1. The demonstrative pronoun and the demonstrative adjective have the following
forms:
“near” reference: sg. this pl. these
“distant” reference: sg. that pl. those
One/ ones is sometimes placed after these demonstratives when an idea of
comparison or selection is implied:
e.g. This chair is too low. I’ll sit in that (one).
I like this red one/ red ones.
This and that can be followed by plural nouns to express a period of time, a sum of
money, a certain distance etc, i.e. when these nouns are regarded as a whole:
e.g. That twenty dollars was a good price.

III 2. Other demonstratives that can function as a pronoun or adjective (or both) are:
1) the former – the latter (see the Irregular Comparison of Adjectives)
2) the other – the others
The other can be a demonstrative pronoun or adjective, whereas the others can be a
pronoun only:
e.g. Give me the other pencil!
I will eat this half of the apple and you will eat the other.
We went to the theatre, the others went to the cinema.
3) the same
e.g. He studies in the same school as his friends.
“Merry Christmas!” “The same to you!”
4) such
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e.g. Such is life!

Have you ever heard such stories?

IV The Reflexive and Emphatic Pronoun

The reflexive and emphatic pronouns have the same forms:

First person: sg. myself, pl. ourselves
Second person: sg. yourself, pl. yourselves
Third person: sg. himself, herself, itself pl. themselves

IV 1. The Reflexive Pronoun

The reflexive pronoun is used:
1) as object of a verb when the action of the verb returns to the doer, i.e. when subject
and object are the same person:
e.g. He cut himself.
I’m teaching myself German.
They blame themselves for the accident.
Reflexive pronouns are preferred to personal pronouns when there is an emotional
reference to the person’s self:
e.g. She was beside herself with rage.

1) with the following classes of verbs:

a) verbs that are practically always used reflexively: absent oneself (from), avail
oneself (of), busy oneself (with), pride oneself (on):
e.g. He busied himself with his papers.
b) verbs that are reflexive in a certain sense (with a certain meaning): apply (oneself),
behave (oneself), conduct (oneself), depart (oneself):
e.g. He applied himself to the task. /vs/ He applied for a job.
c) optionally reflexive verbs: adjust, comb, dress, prove, qualify, shave, wash:
e.g. She proved (herself) to be very good at computers.
The reflexive pronouns occur in a few phrases:
Help yourself!
Make yourself at home!
to behave oneself
to enjoy oneself
to make oneself heard
strictly between ourselves

IV 2. The Emphatic Pronoun

Although the emphatic pronouns have the same form as the reflexive pronouns, they
have an end position in the sentence or come after the noun phrase/ group they refer to:
e.g. Tom went to London himself.
Tom himself went to London.
When preceded by the prepositions by, of or for, the emphatic pronoun has the
meaning “alone”:
e.g. I made the dress by myself.
I want to see for myself.
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Test de autoevaluare:

1. Which are the main procedural systems? – 2 puncte

2. How would you characterize the system of England? – 2 puncte
3. Describe civil proceedings in brief. – 2 puncte
4. Which is the role of the claimant? What remedy can he obtain? – 2 puncte
5. What is ADR? – 2 puncte

Exerciţii:

1. Fill in the blank spaces with there or it as introductory elements:

1….is two years since he left. 2….was the car keys that I lost and found again. 3….is
no place like home. 4….is hard to find a good man. 5….is a girl waiting for your sister. 6….is
two kilometres to his school. 7….was a fine drizzle of rain falling. 8….was some time before
I discovered he was a real friend. 9….is something fishy going on there, but …is not my job
to find out.
Răspuns: 1. It is two years since he left.

2. Fill in the blank spaces with another, the other, the others, others:

1. There is a table in the kitchen and there is … in the living room. 2. This room is as
large as… three. 3. Some people are generous, …are mean. 4. Some of the guests drank
champagne, …preferred wine. 5. He has two dogs: one is black and…is white. 6. My son has
grown out of his clothes, I’ll have to buy him …soon. 7. He that tells a secret is…servant. 8.
Tell …we’ll be there on time. 9. Can I have …drink? 10. Every time he asks us…questions.

Grile:

1. There are two main procedural systems:

a. the inquisitorial system and the investigatory system
b. the inquisitorial system and the adversary system
c. the adversary system and the accusatorial system

2. In the inquisitorial system:

a. the judge plays an important role in conducting a case
b. the judge plays a secondary role in conducting a case
c. the judge is a sort of referee

3. A person who believes that another individual has committed a civil wrong can
complete:
a. a complaint
b. a claim form
c. a form of application

4. The person who starts a civil case is called:

a. a defendant
b. a plaintiff
c. a claimant
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5. The usual remedy is:

a. damage
b. an order
c. damages