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prevaloir

English translation: avail oneself

07:03 Aug 30, 2000
French to English translations [PRO]
Bus/Financial
French term or phrase: prevaloir
prets

Le “RESERVATAIRE” autorise Monsieur CARRE a se tenir informee de l’avancement de L’etude de ses dossiers et demandes de prets, et s’engage a lui fournir a sa premiere demande, copie de ses demandes de prets, des responses des etablissements preteurs et de son acceptation d’offre de credit, faute de quoi, il ne pourra se prevaloir de la condition suspensive de non obtention de son ou de ses prets
gerry duggan
English translation:avail oneself
Explanation:
"Se prévaloir" means to avail oneself of something, to exercise a right one has, to take advantage of something. In your example, I would translate the phrase ", faute de quoi, il ne pourra se prevaloir de la condition suspensives" as ", failing which, he shall not be entitled to avail himself of the suspensive condition".
HTH
Bettina
Selected response from:

Bettina Karpel (X)
Grading comment
Bettina, Thanks for taking the time to translate the whole phrase. Buying a flat in France when living in England is a challenge, esp. with my level of French!
Regards
Gerry Duggan
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
naavail oneself
Bettina Karpel (X)
nainvoke
Joan Wallace (X)
natake advantage of / to benfit from
Telesforo Fernandez (X)
nasee below
Elisabeth Moser
na"to avail oneself (of something)" or "to take advantage (of something)"
Louise Atfield
nabenefit from, rely upon
Nikki Scott-Despaigne
naabout conditions...
Nikki Scott-Despaigne


  

Answers


26 mins
avail oneself


Explanation:
"Se prévaloir" means to avail oneself of something, to exercise a right one has, to take advantage of something. In your example, I would translate the phrase ", faute de quoi, il ne pourra se prevaloir de la condition suspensives" as ", failing which, he shall not be entitled to avail himself of the suspensive condition".
HTH
Bettina

Bettina Karpel (X)
PRO pts in pair: 12
Grading comment
Bettina, Thanks for taking the time to translate the whole phrase. Buying a flat in France when living in England is a challenge, esp. with my level of French!
Regards
Gerry Duggan

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
Heathcliff
Nikki Scott-Despaigne
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28 mins
invoke


Explanation:
il ne pourra pas se vouloir de...
he may not invoke (or claim)

Joan Wallace (X)
PRO pts in pair: 50

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
Heathcliff
2BO (X)
Nikki Scott-Despaigne
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31 mins
take advantage of / to benfit from


Explanation:
This is the menaing of the verb "se prevaloir"

Telesforo Fernandez (X)
Local time: 07:38
PRO pts in pair: 216

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
Heathcliff
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1 hr
see below


Explanation:
I agree with the answer above mine.
se prévaloir (de)=to take advantage (of)
"condition" I would prob. translate with
"requirements" instead of "condition."
One cannot "avail" a requirement, one
can "avail" an opportunity (profiter de)
etc.


    Harper Collins Robert
Elisabeth Moser
United States
Local time: 22:08
Native speaker of: Native in GermanGerman
PRO pts in pair: 32

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
Heathcliff
Nikki Scott-Despaigne
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1 hr
"to avail oneself (of something)" or "to take advantage (of something)"


Explanation:
Both expressions are proper translations of "se prévaloir" (note they are not translations of "prévaloir" alone, which would be "to prevail" and is an intransitive verb).

I personally prefer the first expression.

Louise Atfield
PRO pts in pair: 300

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
Heathcliff
Nikki Scott-Despaigne
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18 hrs
benefit from, rely upon


Explanation:
Your verb here is not 'prévaloir' but 'se prévaloir de qqchs' which means to take advantage from, to benefit from. In GB legal English, 'rely upon' would be used here. The question is whether or not Mr Carré can rely upon the "condition suspensive" (condition precedent) or not. (By the way, Mr Carré, thus "informé" without the extra "e", but that was probably a typo).

Thus : "...failing which, he shall not be able to rely upon the condition precedent on having failed to obtain the loan or loans".

Extra bits for your information :

CONDITION SUSPENSIVE : modalité d'un acte juridique faisant dépendre l'existence d'un "événement futur dont la réalisation est incertaine. [...] Si la condition est suspensive, le droit ne nait, rétroactivement, que si l'événement se produit.

CONDITION PRECEDENT : a major term of a contract, frequently described as a term which goes to the root or which is the essence of the contract. A provision that does not form part of a contractual obligation but operates either to suspend the contract until a specific event has happened (a condition precedent) or to bring it to an end in certain specified circumstances (condition subsequent).

Hope this helps you get on.

Nikki



    Lexique de Termes Juridiques, DALLOZ, 1993
    Oxford Dictionary of Law, OUP, 1997
Nikki Scott-Despaigne
Local time: 04:08
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in pair: 4638
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18 hrs
about conditions...


Explanation:
Translating legal English is a very tricky business indeed. Finding the right term, where one exists, is essential. The implications of making the wrong choice are potentially disastrous - which goes for any trnaslation, of course!

I cannot recommend too strongly that you use 'condition precedent' (if the context is English). If it is Irish (?) or US, then the term may well be different. In English law there is no such thing as a 'suspensive condition'.

I am afraid that in spite of the large number of "avail oneself of sthg" for "se prévaloir de", it is not used in legal English. We do however talk of reliance upon, taking advantage of a condition or a term.

I am sure about this!

Nikki Scott-Despaigne
Local time: 04:08
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in pair: 4638
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