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Contract law: Language focus

The use of legal terms is very important when developing answers to legal problems. These words are common contract law expressions.

Glossary of contractual terms

This list will take you through contractual terms. It is necessary to understand these terms if you are to successfully understand contract law.

Terms Definition
valid/validity Legally binding
invalid/invalidate Not able to be legally enforced
void Not recognised legally/not able to be legally enforced
breach Breaking/neglecting a legal obligation
agreement Offer and acceptance
consideration Something of value which is promised or exchanged by both parties
capacity Relates to restrictions which may be placed on people's abilities to enter contracts
certainty Terms of a contract must be clear; a contract may be declared invalid if there has not been genuine consent as to the terms of a contract
misrepresentation To mislead a party in relation to a fact about the terms of a contract
mode of acceptance Manner in which acceptance is made, e.g. in writing by fax, post, email etc.
legality A contract will not be enforced if it is illegal under common law or in breach of legislation

Quiz 1

Read the following questions and choose the right answer. Check your answers when you have answered all of the questions.

Quiz 2

Read the following statements and identify if they are true or false. For any question that you answer incorrectly, revise the vocabulary list that your learned at the beginning of this page.

More terms

Here are some more legal terms for you to become familiar with. Complete the table with the missing information. In some cases, you will need to enter the verb form of the word, in other, the noun form of the word.

Keywords