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# promise

«promise» in Mova's school dictionary: **To say that you will certainly do something, or that…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

verb (promise, promises, promised, promising); noun (a promise, promises)

### meaning for a pupil

1) To say that you will certainly do something, or that something will certainly happen. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/promise/#m1)

2) A noun: what you say when you promise. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/promise/#m2)

3) To show signs that something will happen or be good: «dark clouds promise rain»; «a promising young player». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/promise/#m3)

### sense in the lessons

In stories and everyday life about truth and trust: keeping a promise builds trust, breaking one hurts people. Don't make a promise you cannot keep. In safety: never promise a stranger to keep a secret that makes you feel unsafe — tell a trusted adult. Phrases: make a promise, keep a promise, break a promise, I promise, promise to, a pinky promise, show promise.

### examples

- I promise to tidy my room after lunch. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/promise/#x1)
- She kept her promise and came to my party. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/promise/#x2)
- He broke his promise, and his friend was upset. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/promise/#x3)
- Don't make promises you can't keep. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/promise/#x4)
- Dad promised we would go to the beach on Sunday. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/promise/#x5)
- We made a pinky promise. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/promise/#x6)
- The grey sky promised rain. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/promise/#x7)
- She is a promising swimmer. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/promise/#x8)
- You promised you'd pay me to-day." [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/promise/#x9)

### note

Regular verb: promised. «Promise to do» (promise to help) or «promise that…». Countable noun: a promise, two promises. «Keep» a promise = do it; «break» a promise = not do it. If an adult asks you to promise to keep a secret that worries you, it is right to tell a trusted grown-up.

### In the corpora

- [Being engaged means two people have promised to marry each other, and a ring is often given as a sign of the promise.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/13-dates-engagements-and-weddings/9/)
- [Before an election, leaflets with smiling faces land on the mat: each candidate explains what they promise.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/31-votes-parties-and-the-people-in-charge/2/)
- [An election is when adults vote to choose their leaders and representatives; candidates send leaflets to explain their promises.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/31-votes-parties-and-the-people-in-charge/8/)
- [Sponsorship means people promise to give money to a charity if someone completes a challenge.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/32-bad-news-protests-and-helping-others/17/)
- [The secret of reliable people is to only promise what they can really do.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/40-being-a-good-grown-up/6/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «promise» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/promise/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.