Legal & Crime Vocabulary (En-Es) with English Grammar

Posted on May 9, 2025 in English

Legal & Crime Vocabulary: English to Spanish

  • Reasonable doubt —> Duda razonable.
  • Jury —> Jurado.
  • Perpetrator —> Autor, responsable, perpetrador.
  • Misidentify —> Identificar mal.
  • Misinformation —> Desinformación.
  • The culprit —> Culpable, responsable.
  • Resemble —> Parecerse.
  • Remotely —> Remoto, remotamente.
  • Distort —> Distorsionar, tergiversar.
  • Interrogated —> Interrogado.
  • Interrogation —> Interrogatorio, interrogación.
  • Interrogator —> Interrogador.
  • Set bail —> Establecer una fianza.
  • Alleged involvement —> Presunta participación.
  • Wave of violence crimes —> Ola de violencia criminal.
  • Aggravated robbery —> Robo agravado.
  • Brutality —> Brutalidad.
  • Badly beaten —> Severamente golpeado.
  • The case remains open —> El caso continúa abierto.
  • Ransack —> Saquear.
  • Spike of juvenile violence —> Pico de violencia juvenil.
  • Gang —> Pandilla.
  • Embezzlement —> Malversación, corrupción.
  • Embezzle money —> Malversar dinero.
  • Misuse of public funds —> Mal uso de los fondos públicos.
  • Police raid —> Redada policial.
  • To raid —> Hacer una redada.
  • Proof —> Prueba, evidencia (evidencia is often uncountable in Spanish in this context).
  • To seize —> Incautar.
  • Custody —> Custodia, detención.
  • Deny —> Denegar (denied —> denegado).
  • Flight risk —> Riesgo de fuga.
  • Trial —> Juicio.
  • Judge —> Juez.
  • Acquitted —> Absuelto.
  • To acquit —> Absolver.
  • Attorney —> Abogado defensor.
  • Lawyer —> Abogado.
  • Fine —> Multa.
  • To fine —> Multar.
  • Gagged —> Amordazado.
  • To gag —> Amordazar.
  • A gag —> Mordaza.

English Grammar Focus

Passive Voice and Passive Reporting Structures

Understanding the Passive Voice

Active Voice Examples:
  • Somebody must clean this house.
  • A witness reported the crime.
Passive Voice Examples:
  • This house must be cleaned!
  • The crime was reported by a witness.
  • He was arrested.
Passive Voice Questions:
  • When was the crime reported?
  • Where will the trial be held?

Passive Reporting Structures

These structures are commonly used with verbs such as: believe, consider, estimate, expect, know, report, say, think, understand, and the phrase “to be rumoured”.

Present and Future References:

Use an infinitive (to + base verb).

  • Original: Many people think Messi is the best player ever.
    Passive: Messi is thought to be the best player ever.
  • Original: Scientists know that pollen allergy affects a lot of people.
    Passive: Pollen allergies are known to affect a lot of people.
  • Original: Journalists expect that the president will give a speech at 2pm.
    Passive: The president is expected to give a speech at 2pm.
Past References:

Use a perfect infinitive (to have + past participle).

  • Original: Experts think that Van Gogh painted the painting in 1888.
    Passive: Van Gogh is thought to have painted the painting in 1888.
  • Original: The police think he killed his wife.
    Passive: He is thought to have killed his wife.
Further Examples of Passive Reporting:
  • Original: Experts say that 8 hours’ sleep is the perfect amount.
    Passive: 8 hours’ sleep is said to be the perfect amount.
  • Original: They expect that 2000 people will attend the festival.
    Passive: 2000 people are expected to attend the festival.
  • Original: Police think that the stolen money is buried in the garden.
    Passive: The stolen money is thought to be buried in the garden.
  • Original: There are rumours that Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez are dating again.
    Passive: Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez are rumoured to be dating again.
  • Original: Experts estimate that 20 people died in the fire.
    Passive: 20 people are estimated to have died in the fire.
  • Original: Journalists report that Kanye West and Kim Kardashian have broken up.
    Passive: Kanye West and Kim Kardashian are reported to have broken up.
  • Original: Scientists believe that the big bang happened 13.7 billion years ago.
    Passive: The big bang is believed to have happened 13.7 billion years ago.

Past Modals for Deduction

Guesses About Past Actions or States

Use the structure: modal verb + have + past participle.

  • A: Where’s my phone?
    B: You could have left it in your office.

Deductions About Continuous Past Actions or States

Use the structure: modal verb + have + been + -ing form.

  • A: Why didn’t Sarah come to the party last night?
    B: She must have been feeling ill.