|
#2 (permalink) Tue Nov 11, 2003 20:13 pm Penalty more concrete |
|
|
Dear Lisi,
I think 'penalty' is more concrete and often used with sports whereas 'punishment' is a more general term. However, when you combine 'punishment' with other words you can create a specific term such as 'capital punishment'. Let's see what Alan has to say on this issue...
TOEIC listening, photographs: At the optician's |
|
Torsten Learning Coach

Joined: 25 Sep 2003 Posts: 17788 Location: EU
|
|
#3 (permalink) Tue Nov 11, 2003 21:03 pm Penalty more concrete |
|
|
Torsten wrote: | Dear Lisi,
I think 'penalty' is more concrete and often used with sports whereas 'punishment' is a more general term. However, when you combine 'punishment' with other words you can create a specific term such as 'capital punishment'. Let's see what Alan has to say on this issue... |
Hi Lisi,
Torsten has asked me to add a bit, which I'm pleased to do. PENALTY is very often a financial imposition put on someone when they've broken a law, regulation. For example you get penalty points on your driving licence if you exceed the speed limit and when you have acquired a certain number you can lose your licence completely. There is a fixed penalty for stopping a train without a good reason. As Torsten says, it is also used in various sports where a player has broken one of the rules. It is in these senses an impersonal matter where the offender/wrong doer loses points or pays a sum of money to account for the wrong doing. Another word is FINE, which means very much the same.
PUNISHMENT is a personal retribution for wrong doing and has a moral implication. The idea is that a person is punished RECEIVES PUNISHMENT for doing something wrong and thereby suffers by for example being sent to prison, losing certain privileges, or being made to give up what they enjoy. And as Torsten says, there is CAPITAL PUNISHMENT where the wrong doer is put to death by the state - incidentally something that fortunately has been abolished in the UK
Hope this is useful.
Alan _________________ English as a Second Language You can read my ESL story Present Simple |
|
Alan Co-founder

Joined: 27 Sep 2003 Posts: 17284 Location: UK
|
 |
#4 (permalink) Sun Dec 14, 2003 21:36 pm Penalty vs. punishment |
|
|
Lisi wrote: | Hey,
I?m a student from Austria.
I?d like to know what the difference between penalty and punishment is !?! In which connection would I use penalty/punishment Could anyone help me?
thx, lisi. |
Hi Lisi,
You will find another example for a word combination with 'penality' in Alan's latest test here http://www.english-test.net/oai54/
TOEIC listening, photographs: The market |
|
Torsten Learning Coach

Joined: 25 Sep 2003 Posts: 17788 Location: EU
|
 |
#5 (permalink) Tue Jan 05, 2010 9:34 am Penalty vs. punishment |
|
|
when i play a game i will get penalty from referee if i make any mistake and i will get punishment from my coach for what i have done ... |
|
Yoki I'm new here and I like it ;-)

Joined: 23 Sep 2008 Posts: 30
|
 |
#6 (permalink) Tue Jan 05, 2010 10:26 am Penalty vs. punishment |
|
|
You also will get a penalty when you continue ignoring basic rules of the English language, Yoki.
TOEIC listening, question-response: Have you seen my briefcase? |
|
Torsten Learning Coach

Joined: 25 Sep 2003 Posts: 17788 Location: EU
|
 |
|
What does platypus mean? | why is an article "a", but not "the"? |