to promise
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to promise
To assure or vow to someone that you will do or refrain from doing something specific, or that something will happen.
Sie hat mir versprochen, mich vom Bahnhof abzuholen.
She promised me she would pick me up from the train station.
'Versprechen' (to promise) is an inseparable verb. The prefix 'ver-' remains firmly attached to the stem 'sprechen' (to speak) in all tenses and sentence constructions.
Er versprach, pünktlich zu sein.
He promised to be on time.
Pay attention to whether the verb is reflexive. 'Etwas versprechen' (to promise something) means to make a vow or promise. 'Sich versprechen' (to misspeak) means to make a speech error. 'Sich etwas von etwas versprechen' means to expect something from something.
Ich verspreche dir meine Hilfe.
I promise you my help.
When you promise someone something, the person is in the dative and the thing promised is in the accusative. The structure is: subject + verspricht + dative object (person) + accusative object (thing).
Der Vater verspricht seinem Sohn ein neues Fahrrad.
The father promises his son a new bicycle.
A promise to do something is often expressed with a 'zu + infinitive' construction or a 'dass' clause.
Er hat versprochen, das Geschirr abzuwaschen.
He promised to wash the dishes.
This meaning always follows the pattern 'sich (dative) etwas (accusative) von jemandem/etwas (dative) versprechen'. It expresses a hope or expectation that you place in a thing or person.
Von der neuen Software verspreche ich mir eine große Zeitersparnis.
I expect the new software to save me a lot of time.
to hope
'hoffen' and 'versprechen' both have to do with the future, but they do not mean the same thing. You use 'hoffen' when you wish that something good will happen, but you cannot make it certain. 'versprechen' means that someone firmly commits to doing something. The words can be confused because 'sich etwas von etwas versprechen' expresses an expectation or hope. Still, the rule is: someone who hopes wishes for something; someone who promises something takes on a responsibility.
Ich verspreche dir, dass ich vor dem Termin anrufe.
I promise you that I will call before the appointment.
Wir hoffen, dass der Zug heute pünktlich kommt.
We hope that the train arrives on time today.