Page 115 - English Vocabulary In Use upper intermediet and advance

Crime

Make sure you know the difference between the verbs: steal and rob. The object of the verb
'steal' is the thing which is taken away, e.g. they stole my bike, whereas the object of the
verb 'rob' is the person or place from which things are stolen, e.g. I was robbed last night. A
masked man robbed the bank. 'Steal' is irregular: steal, stole, stolen.

The table below gives the names of some other types of crimes together with their associated
verbs and the name of the person who commits the crimes.

I crime definition criminal verb
murder killing someone murderer murder
shoplifting stealing something from a shop shoplifter shoplift
burglary stealing from someone's home burglar burgle
smuggling taking something illegally into smuggler smuggle
another country
arson setting fire to something in a arsonist to set fire to
criminal way
kidnapping taking a person hostage in exchange kidnapper kidnap
for money or other favours, etc.

All the verbs in the table above on the right are regular apart from set (set, set, set).

Here are some more useful verbs connected with crime and law. Note that many of them
have particular prepositions associated with them.
to commit a crime or an offence: to do something illegal
to accuse someone of a crime: to say someone is guilty
to charge someone with (murder): to bring someone to court
to plead guilty or not guilty: to swear in court that one is guilty or otherwise.
to defend/prosecute someone in court: to argue for or against someone in a trial
to pass verdict on an accused person: to decide whether they are guilty or not
to sentence someone to a punishment: what the judge does after a verdict of guilty
to acquit an accused person of a charge: to decide in court that someone is not guilty
(the opposite of to convict someone)
to fine someone a sum of money: to punish someone by making them pay
to send someone to prison: to punish someone by putting them in prison
to release someone from prisonljail: to set someone free after a prison sentence
to be tried: to have a case judged in court.

Here are some useful nouns.
trial: the legal process in court whereby an accused person is investigated, or tried, and then
found guilty or not guilty
case: a crime that is being investigated
evidence: information used in a court of law to decide whether the accused is guilty or not
proof: evidence that shows conclusively whether something is a fact or not
verdict: the decision: guilty or not guilty
judge: the person who leads a trial and decides on the sentence
jury: group of twelve citizens who decide whether the accused is guilty or not

English Vocabulary in Use