Spelling & Vocabulary Enrichment [ 23 ]

23- ] Spelling & Vocabulary Enrichment .

Crimes .

A-] Note 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 .

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

crime	definition	criminal	verb
murder	killing someone	murderer , killer	murder , kill
shoplifting	stealing something from a shop	shoplifter	shoplift
burglary	stealing something from  someone’s home	burglar	burgle
smuggling	taking something illegally into  another  country	smuggler	smuggle
kidnapping	taking a person hostage in exchange for money or other favors , etc.	kidnapper	kidnap

C-] Here are some more useful verbs connected with crime and law :

- He ‘committed’ a crime’ when he robbed a bank .

- Someone ‘witnessed’ the crime and told the police . The police ‘charged’ him ‘with’

‘bank robbery’ . They also ‘accused’ his twin brother of being his ‘accomplice’ .

- The ‘case’ ‘came to court’ and they were ‘tried’ . The ‘trial’ did not last very long . They ‘pleaded not guilty’ in the court . Their ‘lawyer’ did his best to ‘defend’ them but the ]prosecuting lawyer’ ‘produced’ a very strong case against them .

- After ‘brief deliberations’ , the ‘jury’ ‘passed verdict on’ them . They decided that one was ‘guilty’ but the other was ‘innocent’ . The ‘judge’ ‘acquitted’ the innocent ‘of’ any ‘involvement’ in the ‘robber’ but ‘sentenced’ the other ‘to’ three years ‘in prison’.

He also had to ‘pay’ a large ‘fine’ . The guilty ‘served’ two years in prison [jail] but was ‘released from’ prison a year early . He ‘got time off’ for ‘ good behavior’ .

D-] Here are some useful words :

- ‘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 .

- ‘judge’ : the person who leads a trial and decides on the ‘sentence’ i.e. the punishment .

- ‘jury’ : group of twelve citizens who decide on the ‘verdict’ i.e. whether the accused is guilty or not .

Succeeding , failure and difficulty .

A-] Succeeding :

- We ‘succeeded in’ persuading a lot of people to join our protest

- I ‘managed’ to contact him just before he left his office .

- I don’t think I can ‘manage’ the whole walk . I think I’ll turn back  .

- We’ve ‘achieved’ / ‘accomplished’ a great deal in the last year . [ both are used with quantity phrases such as ‘a lot’ / ‘a little’ ; ‘accomplish’ is rather formal ]

- The company has ‘achieved’ all its ‘goals’ / ‘aims’ / ‘targets’ for the year . [ achieve is more common than accomplish with nouns expressing ‘goals’ and ‘ambitions’ ]

-Do you think his plan will ‘come off’ ?[ succeed ; informal ]

Matrix for some typical collocations with ‘succeeding’ verbs :

	reach	attain	secure	realize	fulfil	achieve
ambition		*		*	*	*
dream				*		*
agreement	*		*
obligation					*
target	*	*				*
compromise	*					*

B-] Failing and difficulty :

- Plans and projects sometimes ‘go wrong’ or ‘backfire’ . [ don’t run out as intended ]

- Companies , clubs and societies often ‘fold/ go under’ through lack of success . [ close down ; ‘go under’ is informal ]

- A plan or project may ‘falter’ , even if it finally succeeds . [ have ups and downs ]

- All your plans and hard work / efforts may ‘come to nothing’ .

- I have great ‘difficulty’ in getting up in the morning . I ‘find it difficult’ to remember the names of everybody in the class .[‘hard’ can also be used here ; it is more informal] 

- It’s ‘hard’ / ‘difficult’ to hear what she’s saying .

- I often ‘have trouble’ starting the car on cold mornings . [ more informal ]

- We’ve ‘had a lot of bother with’ the neighbors lately . [ very informal ]

- Can you ‘cope with’ three more students ? They’ve just arrived .

- I’ve no money , my friend left me ; I need help ; I just ‘can’t cope’ any more .