Penalize Someone For Doing vs. Penalize Someone To Do
Cambridge records “be penalized for” and penalize someone for something when the following act or condition is the reason for punishment or disadvantage.
Use “penalize someone for doing something” when the action is the reason for the penalty. “Penalize someone to do” is not the parallel reason complement.
Key details
Choose the right form
| Meaning / situation | Form / construction | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| action or circumstance is the reason for a penalty | penalize + person + for + -ing/noun | Use “for” to introduce the reason. |
| purpose or intended future action | penalize someone to do | Do not use this as the parallel reason complement. |
Quick tests
Meaning / construction test
Are you naming the act or circumstance that caused the penalty?
If yes: Use “penalize someone for doing something.”
If no: Do not replace the reason complement with bare “to do” as if it were equivalent.
Examples
The referee penalized the team for delaying play.
“For delaying” identifies the reason for the penalty.
The policy penalizes drivers for parking there.
“For + -ing” introduces the penalized behavior.
Further guidance
Boundary
Penalize can also mean cause a disadvantage more generally; that sense does not license a parallel penalize + person + to-infinitive reason frame.
Construction
The reason for the penalty is expressed with penalize + person + for + noun/-ing.
Decision
Use “penalize someone for doing something” when the action is the reason for the penalty. “Penalize someone to do” is not the parallel reason complement.
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
- Penalize — Cambridge Dictionary (opens in a new tab)Cambridge Dictionary · Current dictionary construction showing penalize someone for a rule-breaking act or circumstance.