There are two kinds of adverbial clauses, which often appear in business English contracts, i.e. adverbial clauses of time and adverbial clauses of condition.
2.1Adverbial clauses of time are introduced by when, while, as, before, after, until, etc can be described in terms of “same time”, “earlier time”, and “later time.”
The adverbial clauses of time introduced by when, before and after are widely used in business English contracts. The following will concentrate on how to translate them into Chinese.
a) In Chinese, “ when” is usually introduced by 当……时候, etc. Sometimes, an adverbial clause introduced by “when” can be regarded as the clause of conditional meaning, which can be translated into Chinese adverbial clauses of condition. In Chinese, we have similar conjunctions like如果, 倘若, etc.
·When one party to the Joint Venture Company assigns all or part of his investment, the other party has preemptive right.
如果合资公司一方拟转让其全部或部分出资额，另一方有优先购买权。
b) The conjunction “before” is usually translated into “在……之前” in Chinese. In business English contracts, sometimes, in order to emphasize the obligation to be fulfilled, “before” may be rendered into Chinese by using “……后, 才能…….”
·The manufacturers shall, before the goods is delivered over, make a precise and comprehensive inspection of the goods with regard to its quality, specifications, performance and quantity, weight, and issue inspection certificates certifying the technical data and conclusion of the inspection.
制造商应对货物的质量、规格、性能和数量、重量进行一丝不苟和全面的检验，出具检验证明书，证实检验的技术数据和结论后，才能发货。
c) The conjunction, “after” is often expressed by “在……后” in Chinese. In business English contracts, “after” is sometimes converted into “……之日起” in Chinese for the purpose of preciseness.
·In case the Buyer finds any document incorrect, the Buyer is obliged to cable the Seller indicating the incorrect items. The cable shall be sent within twenty days after the Bank of China, Beijing Branch has received the Seller’s documents.
买方如发现文件有错误时，应在中国银行北京市分行收到卖方文件之日起20天内电告卖方，并指出错误项目。
2.2 In English adverbial clauses of condition are generally introduced by conjunctions such as if, in case, unless, once, and so long as. In Chinese we have similar conjunctions like 如果, 万一, 除非, 一旦, 只要, etc. Moreover, not all adverbial clauses of condition in English need to be presented as adverbial clauses in Chinese. See the following examples:
A) An unless-clause can denote a real condition as well as an unreal condition. In a clause of real condition, unless can sometimes be replaced by if¼not. In business English contracts, “unless” is usually rendered into Chinese by using “除……另有……者外,” and “unless” is often used together with “otherwise.”
·Unless the Contract provides otherwise, it is the Buyer’s legal duty to collect and transport the goods from the Seller’s premises.
除合同另有规定者外，买方应在卖方的处所提货运输。
·Unless otherwise arranged, neither party shall have the right to represent the other party.
除另有安排者外，任何一方无权代表另一方。
B) The conjunction, “whereas” at whiles connects two independent clauses to form a compound sentence, and we have similar conjunctions like “而” in Chinese. In business English contracts, sometimes “whereas” is used at the preamble to introduce the background and purpose, denotes taking into consideration the fact, introduces adverbial clauses of condition, and consequently is translated into Chinese by using “鉴于.”
·Whereas Party B has the right and desires to transfer the aforesaid know-how to Party A, this Contract shall come into force from the date of execution hereof by Party A and Party B.
鉴于乙方有权并愿意向甲方转让上述专有技术，本合同自甲方和乙方签署之日生效。
C) We should pay special attention to the particular usage of the conjunction “where” in business English contracts; “where” introduces the adverbial clauses of condition and means “如果”, “若” in Chinese. This kind of usage is usually found in the legal style, but is seldom adopted in other styles.
·Where there exists a relationship of administrative subordination between the debtor and the third party, as to the creditor, the interests of the debtor and of the third party shall be consistent.
如果债务人与第三者存在隶属关系，相对债权人而言，债务人与第三者的利益应该是一致的。
【Bibliography】
[1] August, Ray International Business Law: Text, Cases and Readings (third edition) Beijing: Higher Education Press, 2002.
[2] Barnes, A. James Law for Business Boston: Irwin/McGraw-Hill, 2000.
[3] Hyland, Richard An Introduction to Commercial Law St. Paul, Minn.: West Group, 1999.
[4]范仲英.《实用翻译教程》.北京：外语教学与研究出版社，1994.
[5]胡庚申,王春晖,申云桢.《国际商务合同起草与翻译》.北京：外文出版社，2001.
[6]陆墨珠.《英语外贸应用文》.北京：对外贸易教育出版社，1988.
[7]翁凤翔.《精通剑桥商务英语》.上海：复旦大学出版社，1996.
[8]郁福敏,郭珊连.《国际商务英语函电》.上海：上海交通大学出版社，1994.
[9]章振邦.《新编英语语法教程》.上海：上海外语教育出版社，1995.
[10]钟建华.《国际货物买卖合同中的法律问题》.北京：人民法院出版社，1995.