Learn how to make a promise in English
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| Do you know how to make a promise in English? |
| Hi, my name is Alisha, and this is Three Step English by EnglishClass101.com. |
| In this lesson, you'll learn "how to make a promise in English" through a quick conversation. |
| Let's look at the dialogue. |
| As you listen, pay attention to how they ask about the topic and how the other person responds. |
| It’s a pity it didn’t work out yesterday. If you want a do-over, next Saturday I’m cooking dinner for some friends. Are you in? |
| I promise that I’ll make it this time! What do you want to make? |
| I haven’t made up my mind yet. Maybe chili and cornbread? My cornbread is really good, I have to say. |
| In that case, you’ll have to teach me how to make it on Saturday! |
| I promise to teach you all I know! |
| Let's go over the dialogue again, more slowly this time. |
| It’s a pity it didn’t work out yesterday. If you want a do-over, next Saturday I’m cooking dinner for some friends. Are you in? |
| I promise that I’ll make it this time! What do you want to make? |
| I haven’t made up my mind yet. Maybe chili and cornbread? My cornbread is really good, I have to say. |
| In that case, you’ll have to teach me how to make it on Saturday! |
| I promise to teach you all I know! |
| Let's focus on the key part of the conversation. |
| In this conversation, this person |
| Says "I promise that I’ll make it this time." |
| By saying "I promise that…," she is making a promise, or declaration, that she WILL do what follows. |
| After that is "...I'll make it this time." In the context of the conversation, this means that she will "make it" (attend) the dinner. "This time" serves to show that the last time that an event like this happened, she was not able to attend. |
| So essentially, she is saying that no matter what, she WILL go to the dinner, unlike the last event her conversation partner held. |
| Let's look at the sentence pattern. |
| This pattern is the structure that all of our examples will follow. |
| I promise that [Future simple tense]. |
| The sentence structure for making a promise in English is very simple. You simply say "I promise that," followed by a future simple tense phrase. |
| Let’s see how a line from the dialogue follows this pattern. |
| I promise that I'll make it this time! |
| The sentence starts with "I promise that…" after which is the future simple tense phrase, "I'll make it this time!" |
| I'll is a contraction of "I" and "will." The "will" is necessary for the future simple tense verb, "will make." |
| Future simple tense verbs are formed by putting "will" before a bare infinitive, like "run," "do," or in this case "make." |
| You can also make promises using the pattern, "I promise" plus an infinitive phrase. |
| For example, "I promise to teach you all I know" from the dialogue follows this pattern. "I promise…" |
| "...to teach you all I know." |
| To teach you all I know is a phrase made from the infinitive "to teach." |
| Now let's look at some speaking examples. |
| I promise that I’ll study. |
| Can you see how the pattern applies here? |
| "I'll study" turns to "I will study," with "will study" as the future simple verb. |
| Next... |
| I promise that I’ll teach you! |
| "Will teach" is the future simple verb here. |
| Let's try one more, |
| I promise that I’ll win the contest! |
| "Will win" is the future simple verb, followed by an additional detail, "...the contest," to make a longer phrase |
| Another one. |
| I promise that I’ll wash the dishes for a month. |
| "Will wash," with some extra context for the full phrase. |
| And another |
| I promise that I’ll come back. |
| "Will come back" is the future simple tense phrase here. |
| One last example. |
| I promise that I'll remember a gift. |
| "I will remember." |
| Let's review. |
| Using the sentence pattern we learned, do you know how the words should be ordered? |
| I |
| I promise |
| I promise that |
| I promise that I'll |
| I promise that I'll amaze |
| I promise that I'll amaze you! |
| I promise that I'll amaze you! |
| Using the sentence pattern we learned, do you know how the words should be ordered? |
| I |
| I promise |
| I promise that |
| I promise that I'll |
| I promise that I'll finish |
| I promise that I'll finish it |
| I promise that I'll finish it on |
| I promise that I'll finish it on time. |
| I promise that I'll finish it on time. |
| Thank you for watching. |
| Now you know how to make a promise in English. |
| ...and now you can move on to the practice. |
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