promise – English verb conjugation

English verb forms of promise

Nominal Forms

Infinitive: to promise
Participle: promised
Gerund: promising

Cognates

-

Indicative

Present

Ipromise
youpromise
he;she;itpromises
wepromise
youpromise
theypromise

Perfect

Ihave promised
youhave promised
he;she;ithas promised
wehave promised
youhave promised
theyhave promised

Past

Ipromised
youpromised
he;she;itpromised
wepromised
youpromised
theypromised

Pluperfect

Ihad promised
youhad promised
he;she;ithad promised
wehad promised
youhad promised
theyhad promised

Future

Iwill promise
youwill promise
he;she;itwill promise
wewill promise
youwill promise
theywill promise

Future Perfect

Iwill have promised
youwill have promised
he;she;itwill have promised
wewill have promised
youwill have promised
theywill have promised

Subjunctive

Present

Ipromise
youpromise
he;she;itpromise
wepromise
youpromise
theypromise

Perfect

Ihave promised
youhave promised
he;she;ithave promised
wehave promised
youhave promised
theyhave promised

Imperfect

Ipromised
youpromised
he;she;itpromised
wepromised
youpromised
theypromised

Pluperfect

Ihad promised
youhad promised
he;she;ithad promised
wehad promised
youhad promised
theyhad promised

Conditional

Present

Iwould promise
youwould promise
he;she;itwould promise
wewould promise
youwould promise
theywould promise

Perfect

Iwould have promised
youwould have promised
he;she;itwould have promised
wewould have promised
youwould have promised
theywould have promised

Imperative

youpromise
weLet's promise
youpromise

Progressive (Continuous) Forms

Indicative

Present

Iam promising
youare promising
he;she;itis promising
weare promising
youare promising
theyare promising

Perfect

Ihave been promising
youhave been promising
he;she;ithas been promising
wehave been promising
youhave been promising
theyhave been promising

Past

Iwas promising
youwere promising
he;she;itwas promising
wewere promising
youwere promising
theywere promising

Pluperfect

Ihad been promising
youhad been promising
he;she;ithad been promising
wehad been promising
youhad been promising
theyhad been promising

Future

Iwill be promising
youwill be promising
he;she;itwill be promising
wewill be promising
youwill be promising
theywill be promising

Future Perfect

Iwill have been promising
youwill have been promising
he;she;itwill have been promising
wewill have been promising
youwill have been promising
theywill have been promising

Conditional

Present

Iwould be promising
youwould be promising
he;she;itwould be promising
wewould be promising
youwould be promising
theywould be promising

Perfect

Iwould have been promising
youwould have been promising
he;she;itwould have been promising
wewould have been promising
youwould have been promising
theywould have been promising

Other

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

to make an agreement, deal or contract
agree, bargain, come to terms, contract, covenant, deal, do business, engage, guarantee, make terms, negotiate, sell, stipulate, trade
pledge
assurance, pact, engagement, covenant, pass, word, vow, plight

Additional Information

Phrasal Verbs

Etymology

1. c.1400, from L. promissum "a promise," noun use of neuter pp. of promittere "send forth, foretell, promise," from pro- "before" + mittere "to put, send" (see mission). Ground sense is "declaration made about the future, about some act to be done or not done." The verb is attested from c.1420. Promised land (1538) is a ref. to the land of Canaan promised to Abraham and his progeny (Heb. xi.9, etc.; Gk. ten ges tes epangelias). Promising "showing signs of future excellence" is from 1601.
2. From Middle English promis, promisse, borrowed from Old French promesse, from Medieval Latin prōmissa, Latin prōmissum (“a promise”), feminine and neuter past participles of prōmittō (“to send forth, to say beforehand, to promise”), from pro (“forth”) + mittere (“to send”); see mission. Compare admit, commit, permit, etc. Displaced native ġehātan (“to promise”) and ġehāt (“a promise”).

Sample Sentences

  • “ Hurrah ! bravo ! what a young ’ un ! ” said Haley; “ that chap's a case, I'll promise. Tell you what, ” said he, suddenly clapping his hand on Mr. Shelby's shoulder, “ fling in that chap, and I'll settle the business—I will. Come, now, if that ain't doing the thing up about the [...] (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
  • [...] close about her heart, so freely; that all the other lady passengers entered into the spirit of it as much as she; and the captain (who heard all about it from his wife ) was wondrous sly, I promise you: inquiring, every time we met at table, as in forgetfulness, whether she expected anybody to meet her at St. Louis, and whether she would want to go ashore the night we reached it (but he [...] (American Notes for General Circulation)
  • [...] ten memorable days we passed on that Enchanted Ground ! What voices spoke from out the thundering water; what faces, faded from the earth, looked out upon me from its gleaming depths; what Heavenly promise glistened in those angels ’ tears, the drops of many hues, that showered around, and twined themselves about the gorgeous arches which the changing rainbows made ! (American Notes for General Circulation)
  • “ And promise me, dear father, that Tom shall have his freedom as soon as”—she stopped, and said, in a hesitating tone—“I am gone ! ” (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
  • “ Miss Feely, ” he said, “ Mas’r St. Clare promised me my freedom. He told me that he had begun to take it out for me; and now, perhaps, if Miss Feely would be good enough to speak bout it to Missis, she would feel like goin ’ on with it, was it as [...] (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
  • “ There's one thing I wanted to speak with you about, ” said Miss Ophelia. “ Augustine promised Tom his liberty, and began the legal forms necessary to it. I hope you will use your influence to have it perfected. ” (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
  • “ But he does desire it, very earnestly, and his master promised it, ” said Miss Ophelia. (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
  • [...] farly beat out, and couldn't keep awake no longer; and cause I got to sleep, one night, Lors, he talk so orful to me, and he tell me he'd sell me to just the hardest master he could find; and he'd promised me my freedom, too, when he died. ” (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
  • [...] Sambo, ” said Legree, “ take these yer boys down to the quarters; and here's a gal I 've got for _you_, ” said he, as he separated the mulatto woman from Emmeline, and pushed her towards him; — “ I promised to bring you one, you know. ” (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
  • [...] seemed to have some feeling for me; he saw that something dreadful was on my heart, and he came to see me alone, a great many times, and finally persuaded me to tell him. He bought me, at last, and promised to do all he could to find and buy back my children. He went to the hotel where my Henry was; they told him he had been sold to a planter up on Pearl River; that was the last that I ever heard. Then [...] (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
  • Oh, I promise you James, You 've never seen a monster like him ! (Minions & Monsters)
  • Okay. She'll be here, I promise. She wouldn't miss it for anything. Especially with your mom not... (Wildfire: The Legend of the Cherokee Ghost Horse)
  • I promise. We will be together. No one will harm you. Do you hear ? (Golosovoy pomoshchnik)
  • And I promise. You should just do it, Sam. You really need to though. (Wildfire: The Legend of the Cherokee Ghost Horse)
  • We can't change that for anyone They are promising to provide a better housing complex and market nearby (Magudam)