Tema-9.

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Terminología Jurídica Básica en Lengua Inglesa

4º Grado en Derecho

Facultad de Derecho
Universidad de Cádiz

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 UNIT 9: Family law.

THE FAMILY-ACTIVITIES:

Test your knowledge with this quiz.

1. A contract between a man and a woman to become husband and wife is called a / an:

(a) wedding (b) engagement (c) marriage (d) affair (e) relationship

2. Rearrange the letters in bold to make a word meaning husband or wife: pusoes

Spouse (cónyuge).

3. True or false: If you have a partner, you are assumed to be married.

False

4. Are same-sex marriages legal in Britain?

Yes.

5. What is the difference between a separation and a divorce?

Divorce is the legal termination of the marriage, while separation ins´t a legal situation, only a
fact.

6. Complete this sentence with the appropriate word in bold:

The judge decided that the marriage had never been legal and so he annexed / antedated /
annulled it (in other words, he declared that it had no legal effect).

7. What is the name we give to the notifiable offence of going through a ceremony of
marriage to someone when you are still married to someone else? Is it:

(a) monogamy (b) bigamy (c) polygamy (d) monotony

8. In England and Wales, what kind of court deals with divorces? Is it:

(a) a magistrates' court (b) a Crown Court (c) a High Court (d) a County Court
(e) a court of appeal

9. In England and Wales, a divorce can only be granted on one condition (known as grounds
for divorce): that the marriage has broken down irretrievably (in other words, it cannot be
made right again). Here are two of the conditions necessary for an irretrievable breakdown:

(1) The couple have lived apart for two years and both consent to divorce.

(2) The couple have lived apart for five years and no consent from the other spouse is needed.

Rearrange the letters in bold to make words for the other conditions:

(3) tdyulera by one spouse: adultery

(4) runbesaleona brvioeuha of a spouse: unreasonable behaviour

(5) soedernti by one spouse: diseption.

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 10. Here is a simplified version of the main divorce procedure. Complete the gaps with words
from the box.

A request (a petition) is made by the petitioner ( = the person applying for the divorce) to the
court for a divorce, in which the facts about the people involved and the reasons for the
divorce are explained.

The court sends the divorce petition to the respondent ( = the other spouse), together with a
form called an Acknowledgement of Service form, which he / she completes. In it, he / she
indicates whether or not he / she wishes to dispute the divorce.

He / She returns this to the court within 7 days. (If he / she wants to respondent the divorce
and / or its terms, he / she is sent another form to complete).

Assuming that the respondent does not want to dispute the divorce or the terms, a copy of
the Acknowledgement of Service form is sent to the petitioner, who confirms the facts sent in
their original petition by swearing an affidavit.

The court pronounces the decrete nisi, an order ending the marriage subject to a full decrete
absolute, which comes later and ends the marriage completely.

11. If a divorced couple have children, one of them may be required to make regular
payments to their ex-husband / ex-wife to help pay for the upbringing of the children. What
are these payments called? Are they:

(a) child support (b) child maintenance (c) child benefit (d) child pensions

12. Look at this situation:

An unmarried couple with two children separate. The father moves away to another town. Is
he legally obliged to make payments to his ex-partner for the upbringing of the children?

Yes, he is.

13. In England and Wales, the agency responsible for the assessment, review, collection and
enforcement of payments is called the CSA. What do you think these letters stand for?

Child Support Agency.

14. If a parent refuses to pay money for the upbringing of his / her ex-partner's children, the
CSA can ask a court to make an Attachment of Earnings Order. What do you think this is?

It´s a order.

15. How old should children be before a CSA ruling no longer applies? Is it:

(a) 15 (b) 16 (c) 17 (d) 18

16. What is alimony? Is it:

(a) money that a court orders a husband to pay regularly to his separated or divorced wife

(b) money that a court orders a father to pay regularly to his children until they are old enough
to leave home

(c) money that the state pays a married couple to help them pay for a divorce

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 (d) money that a married couple must save to pay for their children's education

17. If a couple are unmarried, and one of them dies, who gets their estate (land, money and
possessions) if the deceased (the dead person) has not made a will? Is it:

(a) the deceased's partner

(b) the deceased's immediate family

(c) the state

18. Who is your next of kin?

Childrens, parents…

Exercise 1:

Complete this definition and explanation (which has been adapted from the A & C Black
Dictionary of Law) with words and expressions from the box. (*no se ha hecho en clase)

A child can be defined as 'a person under the age of 18'. We can also use the word
'__________'. The state of being less than 18 years old is called '__________'. When a child
becomes 18, he / she reaches the age of __________ and so is legally regarded as an
__________. In other words, he/ she becomes __________ for his / her own actions, can sue,
be sued or undertake __________ transactions.

In Great Britain a child does not have full __________ until the age of 18. A contract is not
__________ on a child, and a child cannot own __________, cannot make a __________,
cannot __________ and cannot drive a car (under the age of seventeen). A child cannot
__________ before the age of 16, and can only do so between the ages of 16 and 18 with the
__________ of his / her __________ or legal __________. A child who is less than 10 years old
is not considered capable of committing a crime; a child between 10 and 14 years of age may
be considered capable of doing so if there is evidence of __________ or knowledge, and so
children of these ages can in certain circumstances be __________. In criminal law the term
'child' is used for children between the ages of 10 and 14; for children between 14 and 17, the
term '__________' is used; all children are termed '__________'. If someone between these
ages commits a crime, he / she is known as a __________, and may be sentenced in a
__________ Court (previously known as a __________ Court).

Exercise 2:

1. Choose the correct word in bold to complete this sentence:

The money paid by the state to a person who is responsible for a child under 16 years of age is
called child support / maintenance / benefit / pension.

2. When two people divorce or get separated and one of them has care of their children, the
other has the right to see the child regularly. True or false: this is called excess.

False, it is called access.

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 3. True or false: in Britain, the responsibility for the assessment, review, collection and
enforcement of maintenance for children is supervised by the courts.

Fals.

4. What does the Latin expression 'in loco parentis' mean?

Acting in place of the parents.

5. Rearrange the letters in bold to make a word: A child or young person who acts in an
antisocial way or breaks the law is known as a queendltin.

Delinquent.

6. Choose the best meaning of the word adoption. Is it:

(a) the act of looking after and bringing up a child who is not your own

(b) the act of becoming the legal parent of a child which is not your own

(c) the act of having your children supervised while they are at home to make sure they are
being well cared for

7. Which of the following are allowed to be foster parents?:

(a) married couples (b) unmarried couples (c) single women (d) single men
(e) same-sex couples

8. Complete the words in bold: If a parent or guardian fails to provide a child with adequate
shelter, food, clothing, medical attention and supervision, this is known as n _ _ _ _ _ _. If a
parent intentionally harms a child physically or mentally, this is known as a _ _ _ _.

Negligence, abuse.

9. Choose the correct word in bold to complete this sentence:

Sometimes, if a woman is physically unable to conceive and have a baby, the couple may ask
another woman to have the baby for them and then give the baby to them: this woman is
known as a surrogate / surreal / surety / surrender mother.

10. What is a Guardian ad Litem? Is it:

(a) a parent who does not live with his / her child.

(b) a child who does not have a parent or legal guardian.

(c) a person appointed by a court to represent a child in a legal action.

11. True or false: a parent can be held legally responsible for the actions of their children if
the children do something wrong or illegal.

True.

12. True or false: if one parent in a couple is found guilty of the offences in number 8 above,
a court can apply to have the parent taken out of the family home rather than the child.

True.

13. Truancy is becoming a major problem in Britain. What do you think this word means?

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 Absentismo escolar.

14. In Britain there are various orders that can be applied for children in different situations.
Match the order 1 – 8 with what it does (a) – (h):

1. Care Order 2. Supervision Order 3. Search and Find Order 4. Disclosure Order 5.
Prohibited Steps Order 6. Specific Issue Order 7. Contact Order 8. Residence Order

(a) If the parents cannot decide what to do about major issues related to their children, they
can let a court decide for them. Specific Issue Order.

(b) In cases of separation and divorce, this decides who the child will live with (in other words,
who gets custody of the child) Residence order.

(c) The court can prevent one parent from taking a child away from the other parent (often
used if there is a danger the parent will take the child out of the country). Prohibited Steps
Order.

(d) A court can order the police or other legally-appointed body to enter a house where they
think a child might be held against his / her will, in bad conditions, or illegally by a person not
entitled to look after the child. Search and find order.

(e) A separated or divorced parent wants to see his / her children (who are living with the
other parent) for short periods on a regular basis. Contact order.

(f) The local social services regularly visit the home to check that children are being well cared
for. Supervision order.

(g) If a person knows where a child is being illegally held, they must give this information to the
police or the court, or face prosecution. Disclosure order.

(h) Children are taken away from their home and parents / guardians by the local social
services. Care order.

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 REPORTED SPEECH:

El estilo indirecto se utiliza para contar lo que ha dicho alguien sin repetir exactamente sus palabras, es decir,
cuando no se van a usar sus palabras textuales. Por eso es estilo indirecto, porque no se transmiten
directamente las palabras de esa persona, sino que son las palabras del que lo cuenta.

Dependiendo del tipo de declaración de la que estemos hablando se harán ciertos cambios a la hora de pasarla
de Estilo Directo (Direct Speech) a Estilo Indirecto (Reported Speech)

Ej. “No tengo dinero para viajar a EEUU ahora” me dijo. Estilo Directo (ED)

Me dijo que no tenía dinero para viajar a EEUU en ese momento Estilo Indirecto (EI)

Vemos que, en español, al pasar una frase de estilo directo (lo que dice la persona) a estilo indirecto (lo que yo
cuento que dijo esa persona) se dan algunos cambios en la frase. Por ejemplo, si nos fijamos en el ejemplo
anterior:

- Las comillas desaparecen

- la oración principal ([él/ella] Me dijo) pasa al principio de la oración en el Estilo Indirecto
- introducimos que como nexo entre:

la oración principal Me dijo ___ y la oración subordinada no tenía dinero para viajar a EEUU en ese momento.

- El tiempo verbal del ED al EI cambia (haca atrás en el tiempo). Si quien dijo la frase lo dijo en Presente
Simple -como en este caso- el que cuenta lo que esa persona dijo lo hará usando el mismo verbo que
usó el hablante (tener) pero en Pasado Simple.

Además, la persona que era 1ª persona en el Estilo Directo ha pasado a ser 3ª persona en el Estilo
Indirecto, dado que ya no habla ella directamente, sino que otro dice lo que ella dijo.

- Los adverbios y referencias espaciales o temporales también cambian al pasar de ED a EI. Como en este
caso:

No tengo dinero para viajar a EEUU ahora” me dijo.

Me dijo que no tenía dinero para viajar a EEUU en ese momento

El mismo ejemplo de antes en inglés sería:

“I have no money to travel to the USA now”, she told me. Direct Speech

She told me that she had no money to travel to the USA then. Reported Speech

Estos mismos cambios se dan en inglés. Resumiendo, a la hora de pasar una frase de Direct Speech a Reported
Speech debemos:

- Comenzar con la oración principal usando el verbo say/tell (decir) conjugado después del sujeto para
decir lo que tal persona dijo.

She said that…

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 She told me that….

- No usar comillas para contar lo que dijo esa persona

- Cambiar pronombre sujeto

I have no money … She had no money …

- Introducir nexo that entre la oración Ppal. y la subordinada.

She told me that she had no money …

- Cambiar tiempo verbal (la mayoría de las veces dará un salto atrás en el tiempo, hacia un tiempo
pasado).

Direct Speech (Estilo Directo) Reported Speech (Estilo Indirecto)

Present simple Past simple

Present continuous Past continuous

Past simple Past perfect simple

Present perfect simple Past perfect simple

Am/are/is going to Was/were going to

Will would

Can could

Must Had to

Los siguientes tiempos verbales no cambian al pasarlos a Reported Speech (no tienen una versión más en el
pasado a la que pasarlos)

Direct Speech (Estilo Directo) Reported Speech (Estilo Indirecto)

Past perfect Past perfect

Would/could Would/could

Por eso, en el caso del ejemplo que hemos visto el cambio verbal que se produce es este:

I have no money to travel to the USA now”, she told me. Direct Speech

She told me that she had no money to travel to the USA then. Reported Speech

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 Nota:

Cambiar la persona:

I have no money to travel to the USA now”, she told me. Direct Speech

She told me that she had no money to travel to the USA then. Reported Speech

- Cambiar las expresiones de tiempo y de lugar, los demostrativos y los posesivos siguiendo este cuadro.

REPORTED QUESTIONS

Cuando en lugar e informar de lo que alguien ha declarado (apartado 2) queremos decir lo que alguien ha

preguntado.

Las preguntas se dividen en dos tipos:

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 Por lo tanto, habrá que fijarse si la pregunta es una Yes/No question para en ese caso:

- Usar el “reporting verb” asked seguido de if/whether

O si es una Wh-question, en cuyo caso

- El “reporting verb” asked irá seguido de what

Recuerda que al pasar una pregunta de Direct Speech a Reported Speech la inversión sujeto-verbo (ej. have you
got…, can you call me…) propias de las preguntas desaparece, ya que la oración en Reported Speech ya no será
una pregunta. Seguirá la secuencia normal de sujeto + verbo. Eso implica que tampoco se usará el signo de
interrogación. Además, se seguirán aplicando los demás cambios que vimos arribas referidos a tiempo verbal,
persona, adverbios, pronombres, etc.

REPORTED ORDERS / REQUESTS / OFFERS

En estos casos es importante recordar que cada uno usa reporting verbs (que verbo que introduce/cuenta lo
que la persona dijo) diferentes, dependiendo de si la persona originalmente quiso expresar una petición/orden
o un ofrecimiento:

Peticiones: asked

Ofrecimiento: offered to + infinitive …

REPORTED SUGGESTIONS

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 Es decir, que la estructura correcta de la oración en Reported Speech sería la siguiente (tanto una como la otra):

that + oración de complemento (lo que la persona sugiere) con sujeto y

verbo en forma base

Subeto + suggested/recommended +

Verb-ing + el resto de la oración (sin especificar el sujeto de esta)

REPORTING VERBS

Durante toda esta explicación del Reported Speech hemos estado usando reporting verbs y hemos visto algunos
que se usan específicamente para oraciones con una intención concreta (ofrecimiento, sugerencias, etc.)
mientras que otros como say y tell no indican la intención del hablante, sino que simplemente nos informan de
lo que alguien ha dicho.

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 Reservados todos los derechos. No se permite la explotación económica ni la transformación de esta obra. Queda permitida la impresión en su totalidad.
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 Reservados todos los derechos. No se permite la explotación económica ni la transformación de esta obra. Queda permitida la impresión en su totalidad.
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