Gina: Where’s John? He’s twenty minutes late!
Liam: He probably underestimated how long it would take to get here on the bus.
G: Why’s he taking the bus?
L: Oh, you didn’t hear? He was done for DUI.
G: No way!
L: Yeah. He got a twelve-month driving ban, and he has to do some community service, too.
G: Wow! He’s such a car nut, too. That must really hurt him.
L: I’m sure. I think it’s worse because he got a couple of speeding tickets last year, so he already had some points on his license.
G: Well, he can’t really complain.
Let’s see four sentences from the dialogue.
He was done for DUI.
He got a 12-month driving ban.
He has to do some community service.
He already had some points on his license.
What do these phrases mean? Could you explain them to someone?
Try it now.
‘Done for DUI’ means that…
A driving ban is…
Community service is…
If you have points on your license, you…
Try to complete these sentences. Pause the video and say your answers out loud, or write them down, or both.
Could you do it? Let’s check!
‘Done’ is British slang. It means ‘convicted’, meaning that you are found guilty in court. ‘DUI’ stands for ‘driving under the influence’, which means driving while drunk or on drugs.
If you wanted to say this in a more formal way, you could say ‘He was convicted of DUI’.
If you want to say this in a neutral style, you could say ‘He was arrested for DUI.’
‘Arrested’ and ‘convicted’ aren’t the same. ‘Arrested’ means when the police first find you and take you to the police station. ‘Convicted’ is when you are found guilty in court. However, in everyday conversation, people might not use these words so precisely. People might say ‘arrested’ when the real meaning is ‘convicted in court’.
A driving ban means that you are forbidden from driving for a period of time.
Community service is a punishment, usually for less serious crimes. It means you have to spend a certain number of hours working for free. For example, you might have to pick up litter on the street.
If you have points on your license, you have been caught breaking the law while driving before. Many countries use a points system. If you, for example, break the speed limit and the police catch you, you get points on your license. If you get too many points, you might lose your driver’s license, or you might be banned from driving for some time.
Clear? To practise, try answering some questions.
Are traffic laws strict in your country? Give examples.
Is community service used as a punishment in your country? If so, for what kind of crimes?
Does your country have a points system for traffic laws? What would someone have to do to get a driving ban?
Think about your answers to these questions. Pause the video, make your answers, and say them out loud. If you want extra practice, write your answers in the comments and share them with other learners!
Could you do it? Great! Let’s look at one more point.
Before you listen to the dialogue, we have a challenge for you: try to find words with these meanings in the dialogue.
Not to be punished (informal)
A very light punishment
A kind of court (in the UK) which deals with less serious crimes
Got it? Try to find these words as you listen.
Liam: Could I ask a favour? Could I take half a day off on Wednesday?
Gina: Should be OK. Can I ask what it’s for?
L: Well… I have a friend who was arrested for shoplifting. She says she didn’t do it, and for what it’s worth I believe her, but anyway, Wednesday is her court date and I said I’d go along to support her.
G: Sure, no problem. How long is the trial?
L: It’s at the magistrates’ court, so as I understand it it’s pretty quick. It’s not a full trial with a jury and so on.
G: Do you think she’ll get off?
L: I don’t know. Even if not, she has a clean record so I don’t think she’ll get more than a slap on the wrist, figuratively speaking.
G: Yes, I mean, I don’t think people go to prison for shoplifting, right?
L: I don’t think so. At least, not for a first offense. Anyway, that’s not really my concern. I’m just going to support her, and whatever happens, happens.
Could you do it? Let’s see the answers.
Not to be punished (informal) = get off
A very light punishment = a slap on the wrist
A kind of court (in the UK) which deals with less serious crimes = magistrates’ court
‘Get off’ is slang. More formally, you could say ‘be found innocent’. So, in the dialogue, the question was: ‘Do you think she’ll get off?’ In formal English, you’d say ‘Do you think she’ll be found innocent?’
‘A slap on the wrist’ is an idiom. Often, it’s used to refer to a punishment which is less serious than it should have been. So, if some people commit a serious crime, but only receive a light punishment, you could say ‘They got away with a slap on the wrist.’
Different countries have different justice systems. In the UK, there are two levels of court: magistrates’ court and Crown Court. Magistrates’ courts deal with things like theft, traffic offenses, minor assault, and so on. More serious crimes go to Crown Court, where trials are held with a jury of twelve citizens.
There’s much more useful language relating to crime and punishment in the dialogues, so we recommend reviewing them at least once, and writing down words or phrases you want to remember.
Thanks for watching! We hope you learned some useful phrases and vocabulary to talk about crime and court in English. Practice using them in the comments on YouTube!