The best interpretation is drawn from what goes before and what follows.

Explanation

No clause or word may be interpreted in isolation; context — preceding and following language — is the primary guide to meaning.

Where this applies

• They're reading one sentence out of context to change the meaning of the whole agreement.
• A single clause is being interpreted without looking at what comes before and after it.
• You can't understand what a provision means unless you read it in the context of the whole document.

See also

• 10.1.3 The whole is preferred to any single part.
• 10.6.2 Where the law does not distinguish, neither ought we to distinguish.