Expresses that a sanction is being applied as a result of wrongdoing.

Indicates the reason behind imposing discipline; used to discuss accountability, deterrence, or enforcement of rules.

During legal proceedings (court rulings), parental reprimands at home, workplace disciplinary actions after policy violations.

Professional/legal environments, formal discussions about rule compliance, everyday conversations where authority and responsibility are highlighted.

punish; for

punish; for

The person being punished can be replaced by a noun phrase (e.g., 'the student', 'the employee'); the reason can be replaced by a noun or gerund (e.g., 'cheating', 'lying', 'breaking the rules').

• severely
• harshly
• justly
• appropriately

• penalize for
• discipline for

omitting the required preposition 'for' (using *punish of* instead), failing to specify what is being punished for.

penalize for, discipline for, sentence for

Spanish speakers typically use 'castigar por', which preserves the correct structure; however, learners from languages that do not require a prepositional phrase may omit it entirely.

• penalize for
• discipline for
• sentence for
• fine for

'Punish for' emphasizes the wrongdoing itself and its justification, whereas 'sentence to' highlights the nature of the punishment without explicitly stating why it’s imposed.

Creates an authoritative, formal tone suitable for official documents, court rulings, or serious workplace communications where accountability is paramount.

They were punished for breaking the rules.

This chunk is semi-fixed and requires the preposition 'for' to correctly indicate the reason for punishment. The object and the gerund/noun following 'for' must be specified to make the sentence meaningful.

use 'sanction for' in more bureaucratic/legal language