Meaning & use
person v person
Last updated
Meanings
phrasefixed phraselegal
Used in case names to show that one person is bringing a legal case against another person.
Grammar: Written with a lowercase 'v' between two names, as in 'Smith v Jones'; the letter is read as 'versus' or 'against'.
Patterns
- X v Y
- in the case of X v Y
The famous case of Brown v the Board of Education changed American schools.
In the case of Miller v Jackson, the court had to decide who was responsible.
The judgment in R v Smith was quoted by the lawyer.
phrasefixed phrasesport
Used in sport to describe a contest between two individual players rather than two teams.
Grammar: Often used in tennis, boxing, or chess to contrast with team events.
Patterns
- a person v person contest
- person v person match
The final was a person v person contest between the two top seeds.
In boxing, it is always a person v person sport.
The chess tournament switched from team play to person v person games.
Common combinations
- in the case of X v Y
- In the case of Roe v Wade, the court made a historic decision.
- the principle from X v Y
- The principle from Donoghue v Stevenson is still taught in law schools.
- a person v person contest
- The debate was a person v person contest, not a team event.
Synonyms and how they differ
Commonly confused: person v person or v.?
person v person vs v.
The American style uses a period after the 'v' (e.g., 'Roe v. Wade'), while British style usually omits it.
Practice
In the case name 'Marbury v Madison', what does 'v' stand for?
Choose one answer.
'v' is an abbreviation of 'versus', meaning 'against', used in legal case names. 'Very', 'via', and 'volume' do not fit this context.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “person v person”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.