je promets
In French, "I promise" is expressed as je promets.
je promets is used to give a formal or sincere assurance that you will definitely do something.
How does it change in a sentence?
The form je promets ends in s in the first person singular present tense. When you want to say "I promise to" followed by an infinitive verb, use the construction je promets de. If you are followed by a clause containing a subject and a verb, you must use the conjunction que, as in "je promets que".
Did you know?
- The word promettre can be used ironically in French to describe something that looks promising, such as ça ne promet rien de bon, meaning 'this doesn't look like it will end well'.
- If a promise is broken, a French person might say revenir sur sa parole, which literally means 'to return on one's word'.
- If you want to sound more intense, you can say je te le promets bien, where bien acts as an intensifier similar to 'I truly promise it'.
Examples in context
- Je promets d'y réfléchir.I promise to think about it.This sentence is useful for practicing the construction of a promise followed by an infinitive.Tatoeba #10649073 by lbdx, translation #10636929 by felidad
- Je promets de revenir tôt.I promise to come back early.Tatoeba #3890570 by Scorpionvenin14, translation #3890530 by AlanF_US
- Je promets de te protéger.I promise that I'll protect you.Tatoeba #8395990 by Aiji, translation #7199794 by CK
- 82 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Léa and Hugo are discussing a secret.
- LéaTu peux me faire confiance ?Can you trust me?
- HugoOui, je promets de ne rien dire.Yes, I promise not to say anything.
- LéaC'est important pour moi.It is important to me.
- HugoJe te le promets, Léa.I promise you, Léa.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
