The British Council?s language clinic with ?Dr Danny?

Hello and welcome back to the English Language Clinic. This week I will be examining several words used to describe ?nefarious? (immoral) activities and the individuals who commit them. Let?s start with a pair of ?criminal? words; ?steal? and ?rob?.

These words are often confused and are sometimes, mistakenly thought of as being interchangeable. ?To steal? and ?to rob? are both verbs. ?To steal? means ?to take something illegally?. ?To rob? means ?to take something from a person or place illegally?. For example, if Fred ?steals? your television, you have been ?robbed?. The difference is more obvious if you attempt to change the words. ?If Fred robs your television, you have been stolen?, obviously makes no sense.

Just to confuse the matter further, the act of entering any building by force and taking something away illegally can be described as ?burglary?; but if Fred were to do this to a bank, shop or vehicle, it would be described as ?robbery?. In the first instance Fred would be described as ?a burglar? and in the second as ?a robber?. In both cases he could also be described as ?a thief?, and the act he committed as ?theft?.

?Robbery?, ?burglary? and ?theft? can all be described as ?crimes?, ?criminal acts? or ?illicit acts? as they have been ?criminalised? (made illegal by a government). Therefore, those who commit such crimes are ?criminals?. If more crimes than usual are committed in a particular place it is described as a ?crime wave?.

There are many other words used to describe the act of taking something, here are just a few; ?shoplift?, ?pilfer?, ?filch?, ?purloin?, ?pocket?, ?plunder?, ?pillage?, ?swipe?, ?loot?, ?pinch?, ?walk off with?, ?rip off?, ?mug? and ?nick?.

Please send your comments, queries and questions to ?Dr Danny? at the English Language Clinic by emailing the following address [email protected]

If you are interested in registering for an I.E.L.T.S. preparation course, starting in two weeks, please contact us as soon as possible by calling 403 0200.