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ITALIAN VERB

promettere

to promise

  • #116 most used
  • Irregular -ere verb
  • Past participle: promesso
  • Gerund: promettendo

Conjugation

Tap any form to hear it. The part that changes is in colour.

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

  1. io I promise
  2. tu you promise
  3. lui, lei, Lei he/she promises
  4. noi we promise
  5. voi you all promise
  6. loro they promise

Past

Passato prossimo · finished actions: “ho parlato”

  1. io I promised
  2. tu you promised
  3. lui, lei, Lei he/she promised
  4. noi we promised
  5. voi you all promised
  6. loro they promised

Imperfect

Imperfetto · “used to” and “was …ing”

  1. io I used to promise
  2. tu you used to promise
  3. lui, lei, Lei he/she used to promise
  4. noi we used to promise
  5. voi you all used to promise
  6. loro they used to promise

Future

Futuro semplice · plans and guesses

  1. io I will promise
  2. tu you will promise
  3. lui, lei, Lei he/she will promise
  4. noi we will promise
  5. voi you all will promise
  6. loro they will promise

Conditional

Condizionale · “would”, polite requests

  1. io I would promise
  2. tu you would promise
  3. lui, lei, Lei he/she would promise
  4. noi we would promise
  5. voi you all would promise
  6. loro they would promise

Present subjunctive

Congiuntivo presente · wishes, doubts, “che …”

  1. io (that) I promise
  2. tu (that) you promise
  3. lui, lei, Lei (that) he/she promise
  4. noi (that) we promise
  5. voi (that) you all promise
  6. loro (that) they promise

Imperative

Imperativo · requests and orders: tu, Lei, noi, voi

  1. tu promise!
  2. Lei promise! (formal)
  3. noi promise! (let’s)
  4. voi promise! (all of you)

How to use promettere

One sentence for each tense, the way people say it.

  1. Present

    Ti prometto che non succederà più.

    I promise you it won't happen again.

  2. Past

    Mi ha promesso una cena al ristorante.

    He promised me a dinner at the restaurant.

  3. Imperfect

    Prometteva sempre e non manteneva mai.

    He always promised and never kept his word.

  4. Future

    Non prometterò niente che non posso mantenere.

    I won't promise anything I can't keep.

  5. Conditional

    Prometterei di venire, ma non ne sono sicuro.

    I'd promise to come, but I'm not sure.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Voglio che tu mi prometta di stare attento.

    I want you to promise me to be careful.

  7. Imperative

    Promettimi che mi scrivi appena arrivi.

    Promise me you'll write as soon as you arrive.

Good to know

  • Promettere di is to promise to do something: prometto di chiamarti. Promesso! is I promise!

Where you hear promettere

The lessons that teach a form of it, and how they say it.

Italian · Beginner Level 1

  • Prometto di tornare presto. I promise to come back soon.
  • Ieri Laura ha promesso di tornare. Yesterday Laura promised to come back.
  • Domani ti prometto un pane speciale. Tomorrow I promise you a special bread.

Italian · Beginner Level 3

  • Prometto di tornare presto. I promise to come back soon.
  • Ieri Laura ha promesso di tornare. Yesterday Laura promised to come back.
  • Domani ti prometto un pane speciale. Tomorrow I promise you a special bread.
29
Saint Peter's Day

Beginner Level 1 · Prometti? · Prometto!

Needs a subscription 27
Nonna at Christmas

Beginner Level 3 · Prometti? Ti aspetto, Nonna!

Needs a subscription 9
Pietro on the Phone

Intermediate Level 1 · Promesso! Mi manchi, Pietro.

Needs a subscription 4
Pietro on the Phone

Intermediate Level 2 · A settembre sì. Te lo prometto.

Needs a subscription 22
Nunzia's Secret

Intermediate Level 2 · Prometto. Non lo dico a nessuno.

Needs a subscription 28
Nunzia's Goodbye

Intermediate Level 2 · Ti scrivo, prometto.

Needs a subscription 29
Nonna's Wish

Intermediate Level 3 · Forse. Ma me lo prometti?

Needs a subscription 30
The Promise

Intermediate Level 3 · Ve lo prometto. · A maggio veniamo a prenderti. Te lo prometto.

Needs a subscription 27
Saying No, Lightly

Fluency Level 1 · Ma senza farina addosso, promesso?

Needs a subscription 17
The Chapter Nonna Refuses

Fluency Level 2 · Te lo prometto. · Promettimelo, Laura.

Needs a subscription 6
Laura Flies to Boston

Fluency Level 3 · Te lo prometto. Torniamo insieme.

Needs a subscription 14
Filomena

Fluency Level 3 · Mi avevi promesso che tornavi presto.

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Verbs like this one

The same pattern, on other verbs: irregular -ere verb.