In legal English the verb and noun travel together as a fixed pair. You file a claim, you breach a contract, and you waive the right to do something (the phrase normally names whose right it is and what it covers: waive the right to cancel, waive its right to appeal). Choose by genre rather than by formality alone: breach is the word used inside the contract and in court documents, while break a contract is ordinary English and perfectly correct in a news report or a conversation. With the law itself there is no choice — you break the law.
Legal contract collocations
file a claim /ˈfaɪl ə ˈkleɪm/ — After the accident, the company had thirty days to file a claim with the insurer.
breach a contract /ˈbritʃ ə ˈkɑntrækt/ — By sharing confidential designs with a rival, the supplier may breach a contract.
waive the right to /ˈweɪv ðə ˈraɪt tu/ — The buyer agreed to waive the right to cancel after the final deadline.
Not ""The company waived the contract terms."" — say ""The company breached the contract terms."". Breaking the terms is breach; waive is giving up a right you hold, which is a different act. (Note that broke the contract is not an error either, just the everyday wording rather than the legal one.)
Try it: By sharing confidential designs with a rival, the supplier may ______. (breach a contract / file a claim / waive the right to sue) Answer: breach a contract — Leaking confidential material violates the terms of the agreement, which is exactly what 'breach a contract' names, and 'breach' is the word the contract itself would use. 'File a claim' means to submit a formal legal demand, not to commit the violation, and waiving a right means giving up an entitlement you hold, which is not what the supplier is doing here.
Business and compliance collocations
Business English also relies on fixed pairs. Parties reach a settlement, they exercise an option, and everyone must comply with the rules. Note that comply takes 'with' before its noun, so it is 'comply with regulations', never 'comply regulations'.
reach a settlement /ˈritʃ ə ˈsɛtəlmənt/ — The company agreed to reach a settlement before the case went to trial.
exercise an option /ˈɛksərˌsaɪz ən ˈɑpʃən/ — Before purchasing the property, the tenant had to decide whether to exercise an option in the lease.
comply with /kəmˈplaɪ wɪð/ — All suppliers must comply with safety regulations before shipping.
Not ""All suppliers must comply the safety regulations." ('comply' cannot take a direct object here)" — say ""All suppliers must comply with the safety regulations."". Comply is intransitive and needs the preposition 'with' before its noun; dropping 'with' is the classic error.
Try it: Before purchasing the property, the tenant had to decide whether to ______ in the lease. (exercise an option / reach a settlement / comply with) Answer: exercise an option — A lease clause the tenant can choose to use is an option, and the fixed pair for using it is 'exercise an option'. 'Reach a settlement' means to arrive at an agreement that resolves a dispute, which is not what a single tenant does with a lease clause, and 'comply with' means to obey a rule, which does not fit the idea of using a contractual choice.
Try it: Employees should not be pressured to ______ the right to paid leave. (waive / reach / file) Answer: waive — Giving up an entitlement you already hold is precisely 'waive the right to': waive the right to paid leave. 'Reach' pairs with a settlement, an agreement reached between two sides, which is not what is happening here. 'File' pairs with a claim you submit, so it names the opposite move: asserting a right rather than surrendering one.
Getting a deal off the ground
Before anyone signs, each side has its own fixed verbs. You draft a proposal (write the first version, not the final one — a lawyer drafts, then the parties revise), you exercise due diligence (check the other side's books and claims before committing), you seek authorization when the decision is not yours to make alone, and you furnish a guarantee when the other side wants security — furnish here means formally provide, and it is the word contracts use where everyday English would say give. Once signed, the document is a binding agreement and each side must fulfill an obligation it took on. Notice that due diligence and an obligation are the fixed partners here: you do not make due diligence, and you do not finish an obligation.
draft a proposal /ˈdræft ə prəˈpoʊzl/ — The legal team was asked to draft a proposal setting out the revised terms.
exercise due diligence /ˈɛksərsaɪz ˈdu ˈdɪlɪdʒəns/ — Before acquiring the startup, the buyer exercised due diligence on its finances.
seek authorization /ˈsik ˌɔθərəˈzeɪʃn/ — Branch managers must seek authorization before approving a discount that large.
furnish a guarantee /ˈfɜrnɪʃ ə ˌgærənˈti/ — The supplier agreed to furnish a guarantee covering the first two years.
binding agreement /ˈbaɪndɪŋ əˈgrimənt/ — Once both directors have signed, the memorandum becomes a binding agreement.
fulfill an obligation /fʊlˈfɪl ən ˌɑblɪˈgeɪʃn/ — The contractor must fulfill an obligation to complete the work by December.
Not ""The buyer made due diligence before signing."" — say ""The buyer exercised due diligence before signing."". Due diligence takes exercise, conduct or perform, never make or do. It is the one pairing in this group that learners most often build from scratch, because the everyday verb for an investigation would be do.
Try it: The board would not vote until the accountants had ______ and reported on the target company's books. (exercised due diligence / drafted a proposal / furnished a guarantee) Answer: exercised due diligence — Checking the other side's books and claims before committing is exactly 'exercise due diligence', which is what the accountants were doing. 'Draft a proposal' is writing the first version of a document, not examining a set of accounts. 'Furnish a guarantee' is providing security to the other side, so it runs the wrong way here: the board is checking, not promising.
When an authority steps in
A second group has a court or regulator as the subject, and that is what decides the verb. A court does not simply give an order — it grants an injunction, an order stopping someone from doing something. A regulator enforces sanctions, meaning it actually applies penalties that already exist; impose sanctions is the close relative and means to set them up in the first place, so a body can impose them one year and enforce them the next. What usually brings these on is a breach of contract — the noun form of the verb you already know. Watch the switch: you breach a contract with the verb, but you sue for breach of contract with the noun, and the noun drops the article.
grant an injunction /ˈgrænt ən ɪnˈdʒʊŋkʃn/ — The judge agreed to grant an injunction stopping the sale of the property.
enforce sanctions /ɪnˈfɔrs ˈsæŋkʃnz/ — The regulator threatened to enforce sanctions against firms that missed the standard.
breach of contract /ˈbritʃ əv ˈkɑntrækt/ — The client sued the agency for breach of contract after the deadline passed.
Not ""The client sued the agency for a breach a contract."" — say ""The client sued the agency for breach of contract."". The verb takes an object — breach a contract — but the noun phrase is fixed as breach of contract, with of and no article. Mixing the two shapes is the usual slip.
Try it: The residents asked the court to ______ preventing any building work until the dispute was settled. (grant an injunction / enforce sanctions / furnish a guarantee) Answer: grant an injunction — An order that stops someone from acting is an injunction, and a court grants it, so 'grant an injunction' is the pair. 'Enforce sanctions' is applying penalties for a rule already broken, but nothing here has been broken yet — the residents want the work prevented. 'Furnish a guarantee' is something a contracting party provides, not something a court does.
Try it: The insurance company would not begin work until the policyholder had ______ and attached the required documents. (filed a claim / waived a right / drafted a proposal) Answer: filed a claim — Formally submitting a demand to an insurer is 'file a claim', and the past form is filed. 'Waive a right' is giving something up, which is the opposite move: the policyholder is asserting a right, not surrendering it. 'Draft a proposal' is writing the first version of a document, and a claim is submitted rather than drafted.
Try it: After months of argument the two sides finally ______ and the case never went to trial. (reached a settlement / granted an injunction / enforced sanctions) Answer: reached a settlement — Two sides agreeing terms that end a dispute have 'reached a settlement', and it is reached rather than made or found. 'Grant an injunction' is something only a court does, and the sides here settled between themselves. 'Enforce sanctions' means applying penalties, which is not what ends a case by agreement.
Try it: The buyer ______ its option two days before it expired, and the remaining shares changed hands that Friday. (exercised / waived / furnished) Answer: exercised — The shares changed hands, so the buyer used the right it held: 'exercise an option', past form exercised. 'Waived' is the opposite move — giving the option up — and then no shares would have changed hands at all. 'Furnished' pairs with a guarantee you provide to the other side, not with an option you take up yourself.