英文
导读
If someone makes an extravagant or unbelievable promise, he likely will not give you what he promised.
如果有人做出了夸张不可实现的约定，
那么他很有可能不会遵守。
“Be careful, he will promise you the moon.”
小心点, 他才不会遵守诺言呢。
本文英文部分选自《商务法律英语》
译 | 小何何
本文通过英文解释约定与合同之间的区别，说明了构成合同的六个要素，以及何为要约、承诺与反要约。本文提供了合同当事人的专有名词并对其作了定义，其中要约人指未订立合同而出价的人，承诺人则为接受出价的人。本文对一定类型的要约进行了讨论，如限时要约、限量要约以及要约如何终止或结束。一个有效的要约必须满足两个法律要求，即要约对象的合法性以及要约内容必须清楚明确。而合同对价也必须满足相应的法律构成条件。（本文英文译文为原创，记得收藏学习~）
首先我们要区分几个概念，
约定与合同有什么区别吗？何为约定，何为合同？
那么它们在英文释义中有何区别呢？
承诺在英文中对应的是 “promise” (A promise is an agreement to do or not do something. Also, when you have potential, you show promise.)
合同的英文 “contract”（when you and someone else have agreed on something and that agreement is both binding and enforceable by law, you have a contract. When you rent an apartment, you and your future landlord sign a rental contract.）
Every contract contains promises, but not every promise is a contract. What is the difference between the two?
（每份合同都包含约定，但并不是每次约定都是合同。二者之间到底有什么差异呢？）
Here is a case.
例如：
第一种情况：
John likes Susan and wants to impress her. He knows that she enjoys having flowers in a vase on her dining room table, so John promises to bring Susan fresh flowers every week. But what happens if one week, John breaks his promise and does not bring the flowers? Is there anything Susan can do about that?
（约翰喜欢苏珊，并想吸引她的注意。他知道苏珊喜欢在客厅茶几的花瓶中摆放鲜花，于是约翰许诺每周都会送鲜花给她。但是若有一周约翰并未履行约定，没有送鲜花给苏珊，那么苏珊该怎么办呢？）
第二种情况：
Suppose instead that Susan promises to wash John’s clothes every week, and in return, John promises to bring her fresh flowers every week. If Susan washes John’s clothes, but John breaks his promise and does not bring the flowers that week, can Susan take any action to get the flowers?
（试想另一种情况，如若苏珊承诺每周给约翰洗衣服，而约翰以每周带一束鲜花作为回报。若苏珊洗完了衣服，但是约翰并未遵守承诺，带给苏珊鲜花，那么苏珊能采取什么行动收获鲜花呢？）
In the first situation, John has made a promise, but there is no contract, because Susan has not promised to do anything in exchange for John’s promise. Susan can do nothing if John breaks his promise. But in the second situation, there is an exchange of promises. Then this forms a contract. So Susan can now enforce John’s peomise to bring the flowers.
（第一种情况，约翰只做出了承诺，但未订立合同，因为苏珊也没有因此许诺回报约翰，而且，即使约翰没有遵守诺言，苏珊也毫无办法。而第二种情况是一种承诺交换，形成了合同，因此苏珊可以强迫约翰为他每周送花。）
This is the difference between a promise and a contract.
这就是约定与合同的区别。
思考题1：
你能想出区别对比约定与合同的其他例子吗？（可在留言区留言~）
思考题2：
你在现实生活中是否遇到，在没有形成合同的情况下，你被迫遵守诺言？（可留言区留言~）
All legal relationships or legal claims are made up of certain elements. There are six elements needed to form a contract:
任何合法关系或合法要求都由一定的要素构成，构成合同的要素有六个。
1.An offer（要约）
2.Acceptance of the of the offer（接受要约）
3.Legality（合法性）
4.Consideration（约因）
5.Competent parties（有竞争力的合同对象）
6.A meeting of the Minds（迎合心理预期）
The offer （要约）
An offer is the first proposal to make an agreement, or enter into a contract. Every contractual relationship begins with an offer extended by one person to another. If Rachel would like to have her dormitory room cleaned every week, she might make an offer to fellow student that would go something like this: “Felix, if you will clean my dorm room every week, I will pay you $10.” That is a proposal to make an agreement, or enter into a contract. Rachel is an Offeror (the person who has made the offer). Now it is up to Felix to decide if he is interested in Rachel’s offer and wants to make a contract. If so, he may choose to give an acceptance of the offer, or he may make a counteroffer.
（要约就是首次达成的协议，即合同的订立。任何合同关系都源于一方发盘给另一方。如果瑞秋希望自己的宿舍每周都能打扫干净，她对室友提议：“菲利克斯，如果你能每周帮我打扫宿舍，我会付你10美金”。这就是协议，也就是合同的订立。此时瑞秋就是要约人（即要约的发起者）。那么现在菲利克斯就要考虑是否对要约感兴趣，并接受。）
The Acceptance（接受要约）
Once an offer has been made, the offeree (the person to whom the offer has been made) has the opportunity to make the contract by accepting the offer. An acceptance is the expression of agreement to the proposal (the offer) . When an offeree states his acceptance of the offer, a contract is formed (assuming there is adequate consideration for the contract-discussed below). If Felix is willing to clean Rachel’s dorm room for $10 each week, he can accept her offer simply by saying, “yes, I will do that ” or even saying just “OK.” However, in the real world of contracts, it is very common that an offeree does not precisely agree to the terms of the offer. In many situations, quite a bit of bargaining or negotiation occurs before agreement is reached. This back-and-forth bargaining is actually a series of counteroffers.
（一旦要约形成，要约接受人通过接受要约，就有机会订立合同，接受要约就表示与要约人订立协议，当要约接受人表示接受要约时，就形成了合同。若菲利克斯为了10美金愿意打扫瑞秋的宿舍的话，他可以回答：“好的，我接受” 或者“没问题”。然而现实生活中的合同，很常见的情况就是要约接受人并不会明确表示接受要约的条款。在许多情境下，在协议达成前会有一系列的讨价还价、磋商等情况发生。反反复复的讨价还价也就是一系列的反要约。）
The counteroffer（反要约）
If an offeree chooses not accept the exact offer that has been presented by the offeror (the person who made the offer), the offeree may make a difference propose back to the offeror. The offeree’s proposal is called a counteroffer. Remember, an offer is the first proposal to enter into a contract. Any subsequent proposal by either party is a counteroffer. If the offeree who has received the first offer changes the terms of that offer in any way, two things happen: the original offer is rejected, and a counteroffer is proposed . Now the opportunity to make the contract rests with the original offeror, who can choose to accept the counteroffer, or reject it and end the negotiations, or reject it and make a second counteroffer.
（如果要约接受人不接受要约人提出的有关要约的明确条款，那么要约接受人可以还盘，要约接受人的提议就叫做反要约。同时，要约是订立合同的的第一个提议，由合同任何一方提出的任何后续的提议就是反要约。如果要约接受人接受了首次要约后，以任何一种方式改变条款，会发生两件事：首次要约被拒后，反要约就会提出来，合同订立成功与否就在于第一个要约发起人，他可以决定是否接受、拒绝反要约、结束磋商，或者拒绝，发出第二次反要约。）
Identifying the parties（确认合同对象）
The person who is making the offer must be known, or identifiable. That person is called the offeror. The person whom the offer is made must also be identifiable. That person is called the offeree. it is necessary to identify both the offeror and the offeree so that it can be determined who is making the contract, or in other words, who are the parties to the contract. In the example above, of the contract to clean the dormitory room, Rachel is making the offer, so she is the offeror. Felix is receiving the offeree.
（提出要约的人必须是确定的，也就是要约人，同时要约的接受者，即要约人也必须是确定的。区别要约人与要约接受人，这样就能决定谁订立的合同，也就是说，合同方有哪些？上面的例子清理宿舍的合同，瑞秋提出要约，那么她就是要约人，菲利克斯接受了要约，那么他就是要约接受人。）
Limited offers（要约条件）
An offer can be limited in several ways, such as by time, or by manner of acceptance, or by quantity. Such offers can be accepted, and a contract made, only if those limits are met.
（通常要约会受到多个因素限制，比如时间，接受要约的方式和数量等。接受要约后，针对要约的条件达成一致后，合同就成功订立。）
What if no specific time for acceptance is stated? How long does the offer remain valid? If there is no stated time for the offer, it remains valid and available to be accepted for a “reasonable” period of time. There is no clear definition of “reasonable.” A judge or jury will eventually decide what period of time is reasonable in the particular situation.
（如若要约中并未提到具体的时间呢？那么要约的有效时间是多久呢？合理时间范围之内。若要约中没有提到接受要约的时间，只说明在合理的时间内接受要约即可，但对“合理的时间”并没有明确的定义。法官或法官团会最终决定在特殊情况下哪一段时间是合理的。）
Terminating offers（要约中止）
Offers can be withdrawn or terminated by the offeror. An offer can only be accepted, and a contract made, if the acceptance is given while the offer is still “live.” Once an offer has been withdrawn or terminated, it is “dead” and cannot be accepted.
（要约可以由要约人撤回或者终止。如果接受要约人给出接受要约的回复且要约是一份要约只有被接受后，合同才算订立，一旦要约撤回或是中止，那么要约就不存在了。）
Legality of offers（要约的合法性）
An offer must propose a contract which is legal. If the offeror asks the offeree to perform an illegal act, no valid contract can result, even if the offeree accepts the offer.
（要约必须要求合同是合法的，若要约人要求要约接受人实施非法行为，即使要约接受人接受要约，那么这份合同也是无效的。）
Offers Must be Definite and Certain（要约必须清楚明确）
For an offer to be capable of being accepted, it must be clear and definite. If a contract is to be formed, the parties must know exactly what they have agreed to do. If an offer is unclear or indefinite, the agreement maybe too uncertain to be enforced.
（要约能被接受，那么它一定是清楚明确的。若一份合同订立成功，那么合约各方应清楚地知道达成一致的内容是什么。若一份要约不是清楚明确的，那么协议也很难达成。）
Consideration（约因）
In addition to an offer and an acceptance, another element required for an enforceable contract to be created is consideration-something of value that is given in exchange for a promise. This is what makes a promise enforceable by the law. If a promise is made, but nothing of value is received in exchange for the promise, the promise can be broken with no consequences. The promise is not a contract and is not legally enforceable. But if the person making the promise (the promisor) receives something back, which may be either a promise of something valuable or an actual thing of value, then the promise becomes a contract because there is consideration for the promise.
（除了询价和接受要约的因素，一份有效合同需要的另一个要素是约因。做出承诺后，不遵守承诺不会产生任何后果，承诺不是合同，也没有法律效力。）
Offer（n）出价，报价，提议
offeror（n）出价人，报价人，要约人或提出新对价的人。
Offeree（n）受价人，接盘人
Acceptance （n）接受报价，接受要约
Counteroffer（n） 还价，买方还价
Consideration （n）报酬，对价，约因。即为使对方作出承诺而作出的具有一定价值的承诺。
Promisor （n）要约人，立约人
Promisee（n）受约人，受诺人
Bilateral contract （n）双边合同。即双方当事人相互协议而形成的合同。
Unilateral contract（n） 单向合同，片面合同。指未经双方合意，只由一方主题体向另一方主体传达合同条款，并由另一方作出回应的合同。
Detriment （n）损失，损害，伤害
Detrimental （n）有害的，损害性的，不利的。
Reliance（n） 依赖，信赖
Detrimental reliance（n） 信赖损害，对价的替代补偿。指为了防止承诺人因反言而对他人造成不公平的损害所设置的一种补偿形式。
Coupon （n）优惠，优惠券。指类似提供免费礼品或折扣价格的一种广告活动。
看下面的的视频“The New Car”，听第一次时，理解整体剧情；听第二次，回答下列问题。
1.Why is Michael waiting at the bus stop?
2.What does Brent plan to do after class?
3.What offer does Michael make to Brent?
4.What agreement do Michael and Brent finally reach?
5.Is Brent’s offer to sell the car limited by time ? How?
6.Why does Michael need to wait until the end of the week to pay for the car?
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