Promise

make promise

I’ll try to get back in time for the party, but I’m not making any promise.

have promise

Do I have your promise that you won’t tell anyone else about this?

keep promise

An expected, the government failed to keep its promise to improve health care.

break promise

David, my ex-husband, keeps promising the kids he’ll take them out, and then he rings to say he can’t come round. I wish he’d stop breaking his promises. The kids get so disappointed.

give promise

Can you give us a promise that the work will be completed on time?

extract promise

After months of complaining, and after dozens of letters and phone calls, we eventually extracted a promise and from the travel agency that they would refund the full cost of our holiday.

go back on promise

British car workers were furious that the parent company had gone back on its promise to build the new model in the UK.

hold to promise

The opposition is determined to force the government to hold to its election promises. They say they will let it go back on any of the promises it made during the election campaign.

showing promise

Our younger son, Jack, took up the violin a couple of years ago. He’s showing a lot of promise and his school wants him to have extra tuition.

full of promise

It’s a good example of a film which was full of promise, but bombed at the box office.

fulfil promise

This actor had a brilliant early career, but he failed to fulfil his early promise. Now he’s lucky if he gets any work at all.

solemn promise

She made a solemn promise to him when they were married that she would give up smoking.

empty promise

If I were you, I wouldn’t be too disappointed if Mike doesn’t turn up. He’s famous for making empty promises that he never keeps.

big promise

The politicians made big promises about tax cuts but they refused to discuss them in any detail when asked for more information.

broken promise

After a string of broken promises, it is becoming clear that the company cannot provide the level of service and reliability that we need.

wild promise

Before they went bankrupt, ECO Transport made all sorts of wild promises, but fortunately nobody believed them.

rash promise

Think carefully before committing yourself. Try to avoid making any rash promises that you may regret later.

 

Notes

• Note the following expressions:

I’ll tidy up my room before I go out tonight.

> Is that a promise?

True to his promise, Paul returned my notes before the next class.

• We talk of election promises:

The government is facing criticism for failing to carry out its election promises.