Make a promise means to say that you will definitely do something. The usual verb here is make. The phrase is handy when you want to describe the promise: make a serious promise, make a promise to yourself.
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make a promise (to + person); make a promise to + verb / that…; make someone a promise; make promises
- I made a promise to my grandmother that I would visit her every summer.
- Politicians often make promises before an election that they can't keep.
- Don't make a promise to your team unless you're sure you can deliver.
What changed
First versionI made promise to call my mum every Sunday.
RevisionI made a promise to call my mum every Sunday.
Promise here is a single promise, so it needs the article a. The article is easy to drop, but made promise without it is wrong. When you talk about promises in general, use the plural with no article: Never make promises you can't keep.
The verb promise and make a promise work differently. With the verb promise, the person comes straight after it, with no preposition: She promised me a lift, She promised me that she would call. With make a promise there are two options: She made a promise to me or She made me a promise. A common mistake is She promised to me that…, which English speakers don't say.
Your turn
Before he left for his business trip, Dad ___ a promise to call us every evening while he was away.
Show the answer
made — The promise was made before the trip, and Dad planned to call during it. So at that point he had only given his word: made. Kept is used once a promise has been fulfilled, and there could be no calls from the trip before he left.
Write about a promise you made to yourself this year. Say what you promised and why.
This year I made a promise to myself to walk 10,000 steps a day because I sit at my desk too much.
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