http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060806.wr-rogers07/BNStory/Business/home
Which clause is the "unless and until..."clause directly modifying?
comma before 'unless' (legal document) [modifying what?, conjunction]
- Thread starter cheshire
- Start date
Joelline
Senior Member
American English
Cheshire,
Try mentally replacing the commas by parentheses. Does this help?
Try mentally replacing the commas by parentheses. Does this help?
Joelline
Senior Member
American English
(1) No, I believe it would be used for any parenthetical expression.
(2) I like your idea about the Scale; however, you keep referring to your Scale as if everyone in the forum has decided to adopt it. I think you're just going to confuse people unless or until it is formally adopted. No one who hasn't read your C&S thread will know what you are talking about. You might want to use the words instead of the numbers in your own posts (unless, of course, you know that the forero you're writing to is familiar with the Scale--as I am!).
(2) I like your idea about the Scale; however, you keep referring to your Scale as if everyone in the forum has decided to adopt it. I think you're just going to confuse people unless or until it is formally adopted. No one who hasn't read your C&S thread will know what you are talking about. You might want to use the words instead of the numbers in your own posts (unless, of course, you know that the forero you're writing to is familiar with the Scale--as I am!).
Hi Cheshire,
Not sure if you received the answer you were looking for yet. The structure of the quote is formed like this :
(The agreement) is in force for (length of agreement) unless (conditional)
Mathematically the quote would be expressed something like:
Agreement length = Agreed Length UNLESS <conditional>
The comma's exist in the quote simply to separate the phrased idea's in order to make highlight them as individual phrased idea's (and thereby make the sentence easier to read).
All the time.
Ah, I see what your question is now. I should have read the link. The legal ruling was correct. What I said was simply a way to make sentences easier to read (This is almost always correct, but the legal sentence contains a complication)
Because there were two phrased idea’s preceding the ‘unless and until’, this creates a complication in regards to which phrased idea the 'unless and until' refers to.
Because comma’s separate phrased idea’s…if they had not used the second comma, then the third phrased idea (starting with ‘unless and until’) would have been attached to the second phrased idea.
But because of the comma, everything after the ‘unless and until’ refers to both idea’s (which is how I originally read it).
In all honesty though, the solicitors/lawyers who wrote the contract would have saved themselves a lot of trouble if they had just used a full stop (another rule of mine - never put too many idea's into one sentence). Eg.
I learnt most of these 'rules' myself, while reading law, and while trying to write comprehendable legal papers where many events have occurred simultaneously.
(1) The agreement “shall continue in force for a period of five years from the date it is made
(2) and thereafter for successive five year terms
I leaned here that "unless..." clause is only modifying the (2) clause, and not (1).
Thank you very much, vikorr!