…existent, se poursuivent et comportent….

English translation: ...exist, subsist and comprise..

10:06 Nov 14, 2023
French to English translations [PRO]
Law/Patents - Real Estate / etat descriptif de division
French term or phrase: …existent, se poursuivent et comportent….
I am translating a real estate document regarding the sale of properties within a complex, so parts are co-owned. The paragraph below seems to be a standard one, but I am really struggling because of the "existent, se poursuivent et comportent" part. Is it clear to others how these present tense third person plurals link in with the rest of the sentence?

Tels que ces biens ont été désignés aux termes de l’état descriptif de division ci-après énoncé, existent, se poursuivent et comportent avec tous immeubles par destination pouvant en dépendre, sans aucune exception ni reserve.

So far I have:

Such as these properties have been designated under the terms of the descriptive schedule of division set out below, exist, continue to be and include all immovable property whose use may dépend on them, without any exception or reservation.

I am not at all happy with this though, since it does not make sense, so would appreciate it if someone else can see clearly how I should be translating this. If there was an "ils" in the original it might make more sense...

Thanks in advance.
Anne Bitton
United Kingdom
English translation:...exist, subsist and comprise..
Explanation:
This is a construction that I come across every time I translate a property deed. There really is no "equivalent" English construction so it is appropriate to simply find formal. legal words on a word-for-word basis.

1) Exist: direct translation
2) Se poursuivent: basically means continue to exist
What does subsist mean in law?
​[intransitive] (law) to exist; to apply and be relevant. The terms of the contract subsist.
subsist verb - Oxford Learner's Dictionaries
3) Comportent: include (I think "comprise" works better)
The verb links with the other "things" (corporeal and incorporeal) that go with the property - e.g. garden sheds, rights of way
Selected response from:

AllegroTrans
United Kingdom
Local time: 19:44
Grading comment
Thanks AllegroTrans, and to all who contributed. Sorry that I didn't select an answer sooner. I have just created a new account, because I couldn't seem to log on, and I didn't receive a notification by email to say that anyone had answered, so wrongly assumed that they hadn't! In the interim, my French friend described the paragraph as “très emberlificoté” and suggested translating based on starting the sentence with “Ces biens tels qu’ils ont été”. That did help.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +1exist, continue to be and perform/behave
Bourth
4 +1...exist, subsist and comprise..
AllegroTrans
3 +1…exist and in the condition in which they are...
ph-b (X)


Discussion entries: 18





  

Answers


1 day 1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
exist, continue to be and perform/behave


Explanation:
I'm tempted to see a se before comportent, or at the very least carry over the reflexive from se poursuivent.

And in this I am not alone. Even if Google finds over 3000 occurences without the second reflexive (including translation sites), there are almost 200 instances with the second reflexive, all apparently sites related to legal situations.

Notaires take their boilerplate without a second glance. If, decades if not centuries ago, a clerk has omitted a word, they will be none the wiser (I have had legal work containing incomprehensible conditions bearing - as far as I can make out - no relation whatsoever to the situation addressed, that I have traced back to notorial papers from the late 1700s existent in Mauritius. Presumably these originated from France at an earlier date. They refer to legal situations and conditions that simply don't exist today. But it all helps to pad out the file and make customers think they are getting value for money).

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Note added at 1 day 1 hr (2023-11-15 11:32:48 GMT)
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Presumably this covers such things as differential subsidence between buildings, separation of one building from another (having acquired a lean), water from the roof of one building discharging onto the roof of another, instead of being routed separately, and such like.

Bourth
France
Local time: 20:44
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 24

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  ph-b (X): with your first two terms ("exist, continue to be")/Well, I still do with the first term, but please refer to my answer :-)
55 mins
  -> Agreed, it's a 'literal' translation, merely to point out that it's se comporter. Understanding that, many translations are possible.

neutral  AllegroTrans: Not sure how you got from "comportent" to "behave" in the particular context, albeit it is one direct transh; "continue to be" needs to be replaced by a single, formal, legalish word, nezpah?
1 day 3 hrs
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1 day 2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
...exist, subsist and comprise..


Explanation:
This is a construction that I come across every time I translate a property deed. There really is no "equivalent" English construction so it is appropriate to simply find formal. legal words on a word-for-word basis.

1) Exist: direct translation
2) Se poursuivent: basically means continue to exist
What does subsist mean in law?
​[intransitive] (law) to exist; to apply and be relevant. The terms of the contract subsist.
subsist verb - Oxford Learner's Dictionaries
3) Comportent: include (I think "comprise" works better)
The verb links with the other "things" (corporeal and incorporeal) that go with the property - e.g. garden sheds, rights of way


AllegroTrans
United Kingdom
Local time: 19:44
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 251
1 corroborated select project
in this pair and field What is ProZ.com Project History(SM)?
Grading comment
Thanks AllegroTrans, and to all who contributed. Sorry that I didn't select an answer sooner. I have just created a new account, because I couldn't seem to log on, and I didn't receive a notification by email to say that anyone had answered, so wrongly assumed that they hadn't! In the interim, my French friend described the paragraph as “très emberlificoté” and suggested translating based on starting the sentence with “Ces biens tels qu’ils ont été”. That did help.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Angus Stewart
9 hrs
  -> Thank you

agree  Yvonne Gallagher: formal language= formal language and comportent definitely means include
1 day 5 hrs
  -> Thank you Yvonne

disagree  ph-b (X): (post-grading) See discussion.
4 days
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1 day 2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
…exist and in the condition in which they are...


Explanation:

C.− Spéc., DR. [En parlant d'une propriété, d'un immeuble, d'une terre, etc.] Vendre un immeuble tel qu'il se poursuit et comporte. Dans l'état où il se trouve. M. Desroncerets vend à M. Brenu, qui accepte, le château de Valtaneuse (...) tel au surplus qu'il se poursuit et comporte, sans aucune réserve ni retenue (É. Augier, Maître Guérin,1865, V, p. 195).

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Note added at 1 day 2 hrs (2023-11-15 12:51:21 GMT)
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Forgot the reference:
https://www.cnrtl.fr/definition/comporter

(I've deleted my previous answer, which wa wrong.)

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Note added at 1 day 3 hrs (2023-11-15 13:41:09 GMT)
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tel qu'il se poursuit et (se) comporte
Lots of examples on the Net with the meaning suggested by CNRTL above.

I particularly like this one:
Quand l’oncle Sam, contrat en mains, voulut prendre possession de son nouveau domaine, les choses n’allèrent pas tout à fait à son gré. L’ayant acheté tel qu’il se poursuit et se comporte, avec des Indiens séminoles dessus, il se trouva plus embarrassé que le paysan solognot qui achète un arpent de terre cinquante francs, à condition qu’il y trouvera un lièvre au gîte ; il lui fallut plus d’un coup de fusil pour abattre son
gibier.

https://www.hisler.fr/ebook/9782346013432/un-francais-dans-l...

Gibier is not terribly politically correct, but the use of tel qu’il se poursuit et se comporte is linguistically as clear as day... "the condition in which the land is", including its legitimate population.

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Note added at 1 day 3 hrs (2023-11-15 14:04:48 GMT)
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"[such as they] exist and in the condition in which they stand"?


Oireachtas
https://www.oireachtas.ie › dail
6 mars 2001 — The position is that the two houses are in the process of being sold to the occupants in the condition in which they stand. Both occupants ...


Private Property
https://www.privateproperty.co.za › ...
Properties sold in the condition in which they stand. Read More. Key Property Features. 2. Bedrooms. 1. Bathrooms. 1. Lounges. ✓. Garden. Contact Agent.

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Note added at 2 days 8 hrs (2023-11-16 18:34:02 GMT)
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Re Yvonne's comment:

I'm not sure what she's "seen", but judging from her comments both to my answer and to AllegroTrans's answer, she's completely missed the meaning of the source text, in spite of my quoting the definition from CNRTL. She cannot not have seen this.

In short, as far as I'm concerned, confidence level 5 as regards the meaning of the source text, and only confidence level 3 as far as the translation into English is concerned since I'm not a native speaker of English.

ph-b (X)
France
Local time: 20:44
Native speaker of: French

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Samuël Buysschaert
1 hr

neutral  Yvonne Gallagher: your Irish parliament link brings me to the Dáil/parliament but not to where this is used? And clearly informal speech anyway; 2nd "in which they stand" link also leads nowhere. Yes, I've seen this but it's informal when formal is required here
1 day 5 hrs

neutral  AllegroTrans: Much too informal, and you have not translated "comportent"
1 day 9 hrs
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