Headword
Language Portuguese · lexical verb · Promiser nominative · Promisee a+DP or dative lhe · te does not spell the case · Theme one direct object, a bare infinitive, or a que-clause · subject control · infinitivo pessoal of the verb itself · prospect with no Promisee · comprometer-se is a distinct frame · jurar and garantir noted
Promiser, Promisee, Theme · Portuguese marking · working claim, revisable
prometer is one lexical verb. Priberam files it as verbo transitivo e intransitivo, regular conjugation, regular participle, from Latin promitto, -ere. Sense 1 is Afirmar previamente que se vai cumprir, dar ou realizar algo. Sense 2 is Dizer ou escrever um compromisso em relação a algo, and the synonym label is COMPROMETER-SE. Sense 5 is Fazer promessas. Infopédia (Porto Editora) splits a transitive (obrigar-se a fazer ou a dar) from an intransitive (fazer prometimento ou promessa). Michaelis, a Brazilian dictionary, labels vtdi, vtd, and vint. Aulete sense 1 is tdi. + a. The head is not a light verb. Turkish söz vermek puts a noun in the object slot. Japanese 約束する is a verbal noun plus する.
The Promiser is the nominative subject. Aulete prints O técnico prometeu ao porteiro que voltaria à tarde. Michaelis prints Prometeu combater a inflação, a injustiça, o nepotismo e a ineficiência burocrática, in a citation whose subject is Jânio Quadros in the sentence before. The older Aulete block prints Prometeram convocar logo o conselho (R. da Silva). The person may be absent from the clause. The ending carries it: prometo, prometeram.
The Promisee, when a line fills a person, is a+DP or the dative clitic lhe. Aulete’s label is tdi. + a. The filled phrases are ao porteiro and a ela in Prometeu a ela um bom aumento. Infopédia’s usage line is prometer a / prometer por, and the a example is Prometi a mim mesmo que terminava este livro. a mim mesmo is the promiser. It is still a+DP. Michaelis prints the clitic: prometia-lhe amor eterno e um chapéu, and prometeu-lhe uma viagem para à Europa. lhe is third-person dative. The placement in those citations is enclitic. Michaelis is a Brazilian dictionary, and the citations still print lhe. The plural lhes is the dative plural of the pronoun paradigm. No prometeu-lhes line is printed on prometer in the entries opened. Prometeu-lhes um aumento reuses Aulete’s aumento and the plural of lhe. It is constructed.
te does not spell accusative against dative. The older Aulete block prints Eu te prometo que o hei de fazer arrepender do seu procedimento. te is second person, and it stands before the verb. me, te, and nos are the syncretic persons. o / a against lhe / lhes is the pair that spells the case. A doubled clitic plus a+DP, the Spanish cloth, is unprinted. The clitic lines and the full a-phrases are separate strings.
para+DP of the Promisee is unprinted in Priberam, Infopédia, Michaelis, Aulete, and Dicio. Michaelis’s para à Europa sits inside the theme uma viagem. The first Para of Para impressionar a jovem is purpose. Neither para is the person who receives the pledge. A speech preference for para+DP is not a frame these entries print.
The Theme is one direct object when the line names a thing. Aulete um bom aumento. Michaelis amor eterno e um chapéu. Dicio’s gloss example is prometer uma recompensa. The older Aulete block also prints a price: Prometeu seis moedas por uma dúzia de laranjas, under Oferecer ou propor ao vendedor (um preço). seis moedas is the direct object. por is the goods. The seller in that example is unprinted. The definition’s ao vendedor is the person of that sense, and the example does not fill it.
The pledged act, when it is an infinitive, is bare. There is no de, no di, and no a on that infinitive. Aulete prints Prometeram convocar logo o conselho. Michaelis prints Prometeu combater a inflação. Dicio’s gloss example is prometo aparecer. Infopédia prints Prometeu pela sua saúde defender a família. pela sua saúde is por+DP, the thing invoked, and the usage gloss pairs prometer por with asseverar, jurar. It is not the Promisee. defender is the bare infinitive. English promise to V puts to on the act. French promettre puts de on it. Italian promettere puts di on it. Spanish prometer and Russian обещать leave the infinitive bare, as this verb does.
Control. Working claim, revisable. The dictionaries do not use the word. In Prometeram convocar the ones who convene are the ones who promised. In Prometeu combater the cited promiser is the one who would fight. In prometo aparecer the speaker is the one who appears. In defender a família the defender is the promiser. No printed infinitive gives that act to the Promisee. prometeu-lhe uma viagem is a direct object, not an infinitive whose subject is lhe. Object control is unprinted. Prometeu-lhe combater a inflação reuses Michaelis’s lhe and Michaelis’s combater. It is constructed. The promiser still fights.
A que-clause is indicative in every line the entries print. Aulete: que voltaria à tarde, conditional. Michaelis: prometeu que todo mês contribuiria, prometeu que, findo aquele projeto, manteria toda a equipe, and prometeu a seus funcionários que no fim do ano daria férias coletivas, all conditional. The older Aulete block: que o hei de fazer arrepender, the future periphrasis hei de. Infopédia: que terminava este livro, imperfect. A subjunctive complement of prometer is unprinted. Spanish files a subjunctive when the pledge is negated. That negated subjunctive is not a line on this page.
Infinitivo pessoal. Infopédia’s verb page prints the inflected infinitive of prometer itself: prometer, prometeres, prometer, prometermos, prometerdes, prometerem, and the compound ter prometido, teres prometido, terem prometido. Priberam’s form note on prometer-se calls the same shape infinitivo flexionado beside the future subjunctive. Infopédia’s separate entry infinitivo pessoal defines the category as the infinitive with person and number, and the example there is é melhor fazeres isso, not a complement of prometer. The older Aulete block quotes Castilho, Mau é nós prometermos. prometermos is the inflected infinitive, and it is the subject of é. It is not the pledged act. A pledged-act infinitive that inflects (prometi irmos, prometeram chegarem) is unprinted. The printed pledge infinitives stay uninflected: convocar, combater, defender, aparecer.
Prospect, with no Promisee on the weather and success lines. Working claim, revisable. Priberam sense 3 is Dar probabilidades ou esperanças. Sense 4 is Dar indício, geralmente de algo que é considerado positivo. Sense 6 is Dizer antecipadamente, synonym PREDIZER. Aulete sense 3, label td., figurative PRESSAGIAR, prints Marques Rebelo, Marafa: era domingo e prometia bom tempo. The theme is bom tempo. No person is in the line. Sense 4, intransitive, prints Este menino promete. The older block prints A vinha este ano promete pouco and E um mancebo que promete muito. Dicio’s figurative gloss prints o tempo promete chuva. The subject is the weather. The theme is the noun chuva. There is no Promisee, and there is no infinitive. Castilho, in the older Aulete block, prints O Doutor Cosme… promete viver pouco, under Oferecer probabilidades de; dar esperanças de. The infinitive is viver. The one who lives is Cosme, the subject of promete. He is not a promiser handing an act to someone else. No Promisee is in the line. That is the raising use on a working claim: the subject of the infinitive is the matrix subject, and the clause has no Promisee. O tempo promete chover reuses Dicio’s o tempo and the infinitive shape of viver. It is constructed. The printed weather theme is the noun chuva, and Aulete’s is the noun bom tempo.
An inanimate subject can still take a dative. Camilo, in the older Aulete block: louros que lhe prometiam sombra. The full line is Em quatro anos de vice-reinado, o Marquês de Távora ceifara louros que lhe prometiam sombra e gloriosa ressalva das contrariedades da fortuna. The subject of prometiam is louros. lhe is the person. sombra is the theme. The weather lines have no person. This line has one. The prospect reading is not uniformly without a Promisee.
Copular coercion. Working claim, revisable. The prospect reading stays on the verb prometer: prometia bom tempo, o tempo promete chuva, promete viver pouco, Este menino promete, A vinha este ano promete pouco. That is verb-built, the same cut as English promises to be and Spanish promete ser. Two state shapes sit beside that verb. The adjective promissor is Priberam sense 1 Que promete ou faz promessas and sense 2 Que se prevê vir a ter sucesso ou bom resultado. Infopédia glosses it que abre boas perspetivas; que faz prever um bom desfecho, and que ou aquele que promete; promitente. Michaelis sends the headword to promitente and glosses Que ou quem oferece boas perspectivas; prometedor. The adjective is the state. A clause Ser promissor is unprinted. It reuses the adjective and the copula. It is constructed. The participle prometido is on Infopédia’s paradigm (tenho prometido, que eu tenha prometido). Aulete’s thesaurus lists prometido among adjectives beside promissor and empenhado. A clause Está prometido is unprinted. It reuses the participle and estar. It is constructed. That state is the thing already pledged, not the prospect adjective. The compare row marks the split: verb-built prometer, state-built promissor and prometido.
comprometer-se is not this frame. Priberam’s synonym label on sense 2 of prometer does not print the complements. Infopédia files comprometer as transitive and as verbo pronominal. The verb page’s usage labels are comprometer-se a, example O cliente comprometeu-se a pagar a dívida, and comprometer-se com, example Ele comprometeu-se com as suas afirmações. Aulete sense 1 is tdr. + a, com, em. One printed clause has both markers: Comprometeu-se com o diretor a manter o programa no ar. Aluísio Azevedo, Casa de pensão, prints comprometia-se a cobrar o aluguel dos outros inquilinos. The clitic is se. The act is a+infinitive, where prometer’s infinitive is bare. The person, when a line fills one, is com+DP, where prometer’s person is a+DP or lhe. Aulete’s engagement sense is the same com: comprometeu-se com a prima. Working claim: the subject of pagar, manter, and cobrar is the subject of comprometeu-se. o diretor does not maintain the program.
No telicity claim is made. Each mark below is the one the entry prints, or it is labelled constructed. Houaiss was not opened. 501 Portuguese Verbs was not opened.
Where this frame diverges from English promise. English promise her a new car is one bare person and one thing, or to plus the person. English promise to V puts to on the act. Portuguese puts the person in a+DP or in lhe, and leaves the pledge infinitive bare. The printed que-clauses are indicative: conditional, imperfect, or hei de. A subjunctive complement is unprinted. The weather line o tempo promete chuva has no Promisee. comprometer-se takes se, a+infinitive, and com+DP. It is a separate frame. para+DP of the Promisee is unprinted.
The Promiser is the nominative subject. The Promisee is a+DP or dative lhe. te does not spell the case. para of the Promisee is unprinted. The Theme is one direct object, a bare infinitive, or a que-clause in the indicative. On the pledge infinitive, the doer is the promiser. The prospect lines o tempo promete chuva and prometia bom tempo have no Promisee. Camilo’s lhe shows that an inanimate subject can still take a dative. comprometer-se wears se, a+infinitive, and com+DP.
a+DP · lhe · bare infinitive · que
✓ O técnico prometeu ao porteiro que voltaria à tarde. Aulete · tdi. + a · a+DP · conditional
✓ Prometeu a ela um bom aumento. Aulete · sense 5 · tdi. + a · direct object
✓ Prometi a mim mesmo que terminava este livro. Infopédia · prometer a · imperfect indicative
✓ prometia-lhe amor eterno e um chapéu. · prometeu-lhe uma viagem para à Europa. Michaelis · vtdi · enclitic lhe · para à Europa is inside the theme
✓ Eu te prometo que o hei de fazer arrepender do seu procedimento. Aulete, older block · proclitic te · hei de
✓ Prometeram convocar logo o conselho. · Prometeu combater a inflação, a injustiça, o nepotismo e a ineficiência burocrática. · prometo aparecer. Aulete · R. da Silva · Michaelis · Dicio · bare infinitive
the coach promised the doorman that he would return in the afternoon · he promised her a good raise · I promised myself that I was finishing this book · he promised her eternal love and a hat · he promised her a trip to Europe · I promise you that I shall make him regret it · they promised to convene the council at once · he promised to fight inflation · I promise to show up
Prospect · oath and guarantee · comprometer-se · state
✓ era domingo e prometia bom tempo. · o tempo promete chuva. · Este menino promete. · A vinha este ano promete pouco. Aulete · Rebelo · Dicio · intransitive or a direct object · no Promisee
✓ O Doutor Cosme… promete viver pouco. · louros que lhe prometiam sombra. Aulete · Castilho · Camilo · infinitive with no Promisee · dative kept on the laurels
✓ Mau é nós prometermos. · Prometeu pela sua saúde defender a família. Castilho · Infopédia · inflected infinitive as subject of é · por is not the Promisee
✓ Jurou ao pai que nunca mais mentia. · Posso garantir-lhe que está bom. · Posso te garantir um bom dinheiro. Infopédia · jurar · Michaelis · garantir
✓ O cliente comprometeu-se a pagar a dívida. · Comprometeu-se com o diretor a manter o programa no ar. · Ele comprometeu-se com as suas afirmações. Infopédia · Aulete · se · a+infinitive · com+DP
✓ Prometeu-lhes um aumento. · O tempo promete chover. · Ser promissor. · Está prometido. constructed
it was Sunday and promised good weather · the weather promises rain · this boy shows promise · the vine promises little this year · Dr Cosme looks likely to live little · laurels that promised him shade · it is bad that we promise · he promised on his health to defend the family · he swore to his father that he never lied again · I can guarantee you that it is good · I can guarantee you good money · the client committed himself to paying the debt · he committed himself to the director to keep the program on the air · he committed himself to his statements · he promised them a raise · the weather promises to rain · to be promising · it is promised
| Place | Introduced by (working) | Portuguese marking | Status in the sources | Not this place |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Head | lexical verb | prometer | Priberam transitive and intransitive · Infopédia · Michaelis vtdi / vtd / vint · Aulete tdi. + a | not Turkish söz + vermek · not Japanese 約束 + する |
| Promiser | subject | nominative | O técnico · Prometeram · Eu te prometo · prometo aparecer | the ending can stand without a spelled pronoun · ao porteiro is not the subject |
| Promisee | person who receives the pledge | a+DP · dative lhe | Aulete ao porteiro, a ela · Infopédia a mim mesmo · Michaelis prometia-lhe, prometeu-lhe | English promise someone is bare · te does not spell the case · lhes on this verb is constructed · doubling is unprinted · para+DP of the person is unprinted |
| Theme | thing pledged | one direct object | um bom aumento · amor eterno e um chapéu · uma recompensa · seis moedas | por uma dúzia de laranjas is the goods of the price sense · para à Europa is inside the trip |
| Pledged act | infinitive | bare infinitive | convocar · combater · aparecer · defender | English to · French de · Italian di · comprometer-se uses a+infinitive · an inflected complement is unprinted |
| que-clause | finite pledge | indicative | conditional voltaria, contribuiria, manteria, daria · imperfect terminava · hei de | a subjunctive complement is unprinted · Spanish files one when the pledge is negated |
| Control | who acts in the infinitive | the promiser | Prometeram convocar · Prometeu combater · prometo aparecer · defender a família | no printed infinitive has the Promisee as doer · Prometeu-lhe combater is constructed · the dictionaries do not use the word |
| Infinitivo pessoal | person on the infinitive of prometer | prometeres, prometermos, prometerem | Infopédia paradigm · Priberam infinitivo flexionado · Castilho nós prometermos as subject of é | the pledged act does not wear those endings in the printed lines · Infopédia’s category example is fazeres, not this complement |
| Prospect | look likely · no promiser | direct object or bare infinitive or intransitive · Promisee absent on the weather lines | prometia bom tempo · o tempo promete chuva · promete viver pouco · Este menino promete · promete pouco | Camilo lhe prometiam sombra keeps a dative · O tempo promete chover is constructed · the printed weather theme is a noun |
| Copular coercion | is / state | verb-built prometer · state promissor · state prometido | the prospect lines stay on the verb · Priberam, Infopédia, Michaelis print the adjective · Infopédia prints the participle | Ser promissor and Está prometido are constructed · the adjective is the prospect state · the participle is the pledged state |
| comprometer-se | distinct frame | se · a+infinitive · com+DP | Infopédia a pagar a dívida · com as suas afirmações · Aulete com o diretor a manter · Aluísio a cobrar | Priberam’s synonym label is not this cloth · the infinitive of prometer is bare · the person of prometer is a or lhe |
Marking map. Read a by what follows it. a plus a person next to prometeu is the Promisee. a plus an infinitive next to comprometeu-se is the pledged act of the other verb. Bare convocar or combater next to prometer is the pledged act. lhe next to prometer is the Promisee. por on pela sua saúde is the thing invoked. com next to comprometeu-se is the person or the statement of that frame.
Each row lines up one Portuguese slot with the mark English promise prints, with Spanish prometer, with German versprechen, with French promettre, with Italian promettere, with Russian обещать, with Japanese 約束する, and with Turkish söz vermek. The alignment is = where the pages share a subject, a person, a thing, or a clause, and shift where English uses a bare person or a to-infinitive and Portuguese uses a+DP or lhe and a bare infinitive. Printed lines come first. A constructed Portuguese line reuses a printed marking. It is labelled constructed.
| Slot | PT form | EN form | ES form | DE form | FR form | IT form | RU form | JA form | TR form | Align | PT example |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Head | lexical verb | lexical verb | lexical verb | lexical verb | lexical verb | lexical verb | lexical verb | verbal noun + する | noun + light verb | = of a lexical verb · shift against Japanese and Turkish packaging | prometer Priberam |
| Promiser | nominative subject | subject | subject | nominative subject | nominative subject | subject | nominative subject | は | nominative · no case suffix | = of a subject | O técnico Aulete |
| Promisee | a+DP · lhe | bare object, or to | dative clitic · a+DP · doubling | bare dative | à+DP · dative clitic | a+DP · dative clitic | bare dative кому | に · one-directional | dative -(y)A | shift against the bare English person · = of a dative person · doubling unprinted · para unprinted | ao porteiro Aulete |
| Theme | one direct object · bare infinitive · que indicative | one DP · to-infinitive or that | one accusative · bare infinitive · que | one accusative · zu or dass | one direct object · de+infinitive · que | one accusative · di+infinitive · che | one accusative · bare infinitive · что | quotative と | dative -mAyA · bare theme on vadetmek | shift · the infinitive is bare, not English to · the que-clause is indicative | convocar Aulete |
| Control | promiser acts · Promisee does not | subject control | subject control | subject control | subject control | subject control | subject control | promiser acts | promiser acts · izin vermek is object control | = · object control of prometer is unprinted | Prometeu combater Michaelis |
| Prospect | no Promisee on the weather lines · infinitive viver | verb promises to be · no Promisee | verb promete ser · no Promisee | verb · no Promisee | verb · no Promisee | verb · no Promisee | verb · no Promisee on the day line | state 有望だ | verb vadetmek · state olmak | = of no Promisee on o tempo promete chuva · Camilo keeps lhe | o tempo promete chuva Dicio |
| Copular coercion | verb prometer · state promissor / prometido | verb promises to be | verb prometer | verb versprechen | verb promettre | verb promettere | verb обещать | state 有望だ | verb and state | shift · verb-built and state-built · the copular clauses are constructed | promissor Priberam |
The strip below is a set of small multiples. Each card holds one frame. The a+DP card is the Promisee. The English card is the bare double object. The lhe card is the clitic. The infinitive card is subject control. The weather card has no Promisee. The comprometer-se card is the other frame. The copular card is the split.
PT · a+DP · que
O técnico prometeu ao porteiro que voltaria à tarde.
Aulete · tdi. + a · conditional indicative · no doubling clitic
Move English promise her is a bare person. This line spells the person with a. The finite verb is conditional, not subjunctive.
EN · two bare objects
Her parents promised her a new car.
Cambridge · [ + two objects ]
Move One bare person. Portuguese prints that person as a ela or as lhe. Aulete’s thing is um bom aumento.
PT · lhe · direct object
prometia-lhe amor eterno e um chapéu.
Michaelis · enclitic · Brazilian dictionary · literary citation · te in Eu te prometo does not spell the case
Split lhe is printed in Michaelis, including in enclisis. para+DP of this person is unprinted. para à Europa belongs to the trip.
PT · bare infinitive · control
Prometeram convocar logo o conselho.
Aulete · R. da Silva · no a on the infinitive · Michaelis combater · Dicio aparecer
Split Working claim: subject control. No printed infinitive is object control. comprometer-se a pagar puts a on the infinitive. That is the other verb.
PT · prospect · no Promisee
o tempo promete chuva.
Dicio · noun theme · Aulete prometia bom tempo · Castilho promete viver pouco · O tempo promete chover constructed
Move Raising, on a working claim, is Castilho’s promete viver pouco: the subject lives, and there is no Promisee. Camilo’s laurels still take lhe. The rain infinitive is constructed.
PT · comprometer-se · other frame
Comprometeu-se com o diretor a manter o programa no ar.
Aulete · se · com+DP · a+infinitive · Infopédia a pagar a dívida
Split Priberam prints COMPROMETER-SE as a synonym label of prometer. The cloth is different. The infinitive takes a. The person takes com.
PT · copular flag
Ser promissor. Está prometido.
Priberam · Infopédia · Michaelis · adjective promissor · participle prometido · Ser promissor and Está prometido constructed
Move English promises to be stays on the verb. Portuguese also builds a state on promissor and on prometido. The copular clauses are constructed. Japanese builds the prospect only as a state, 有望だ.
jurar takes a+DP and a que-clause, and por is the witness. Infopédia prints Jurou ao pai que nunca mais mentia. ao pai is the person. mentia is imperfect indicative. The same entry prints Ele jurou pela sua saúde que o que dizia era verdade. pela sua saúde is the thing sworn by, the same por as Infopédia’s prometer por. Priberam’s transitive sense 3 is Declarar ou prometer com juramento. That entry prints no clause.
garantir takes lhe, me, or te, and a direct object or a que-clause. Michaelis prints Posso garantir-lhe que está bom, muito bom, garantiu-me que esta carta jamais chegara às suas mãos, and Posso te garantir um bom dinheiro. te is proclitic and does not spell the case. um bom dinheiro is the direct object. O pai do jovem garantiu que seu filho estava sendo sincero and A loja garante que, até sete dias, troca o produto are indicative que-clauses. para garantir a dívida in the citation with exigiu has the debt as the direct object of garantir. The subjunctive hipotecasse belongs to exigiu que.
fazer promessas is the intransitive gloss. Priberam sense 5 of the verb is Fazer promessas. Infopédia’s intransitive sense 1 is fazer prometimento ou promessa. Priberam’s noun promessa sense 2 is Declaração em que se anuncia a outrem ou a si mesmo uma ação futura ou intenção de dar, cumprir, fazer ou dizer algo. The noun’s definition names a outrem and a si mesmo. A clause fazer uma promessa a alguém with those complements filled is unprinted. The light verb is the gloss of the intransitive, not a second three-place frame with printed arguments.
comprometer-se is reflexive, and it is not a synonym in the argument sense. The clitic is se. Infopédia labels the verb pronominal. The act is a+infinitive: a pagar a dívida, a manter o programa no ar, Aluísio’s a cobrar o aluguel. The person or the content in com is com o diretor, com as suas afirmações, and the engagement com a prima. Aulete can print com and a+infinitive in one clause. prometer prints the person in a or lhe and the infinitive bare.
Subject control is the cut against a Promisee who would act. Prometeram convocar, Prometeu combater, prometo aparecer, and defender a família keep the act with the promiser. O cliente comprometeu-se a pagar keeps the act with the subject of se. English I promised her to leave is the same subject-control cut, and on the English page that combined line is constructed. Spanish Le prometió traer… un regalo, French Il lui a promis de l'aider, German sie hat mir versprochen, pünktlich zu sein, Italian ti prometto di essere buono, and Russian обещали ему соблюдать are that cut on the other pages.
dever is the debt sister already on the site. prometer names a later act or a later thing. It is not the debt. Offer is the English future-having sister.
Copular coercion, recorded on this entry. The commitment and the prospect are verb-built on prometer. The adjective promissor is the prospect coerced into a state: Priberam Que se prevê vir a ter sucesso, Infopédia que abre boas perspetivas, Michaelis oferece boas perspectivas. Ser promissor is the copular clause, constructed. The participle prometido is the pledge coerced into a result state. Está prometido is constructed. Japanese 有望だ is state-built only. Swedish vara skyldig, on the owe page, is the pattern where a copula plus an adjective builds a debt. That pattern is the pattern of the state side here. It is not the pattern of the verb prometer.
Which object the clause treats as the object is the note Causative templates and argument selection. This page does not edit that note. No causative of prometer is printed in the entries opened.
Argument difference. English promise her a book is a bare person and a bare thing, and promise to V is a to-infinitive. Portuguese prometeu ao porteiro and prometia-lhe mark the person with a or with lhe. Prometeram convocar leaves the infinitive bare. que voltaria is conditional indicative. o tempo promete chuva has no Promisee. Comprometeu-se com o diretor a manter is the other frame. Ser promissor is the state.
Printed dictionary lines come first. A constructed line reuses a printed marking. It is labelled constructed.
Real · Priberam · Infopédia · Michaelis · Aulete · Dicio
✓ O técnico prometeu ao porteiro que voltaria à tarde. · Prometeu a ela um bom aumento. Aulete · tdi. + a
✓ Prometi a mim mesmo que terminava este livro. · Prometeu pela sua saúde defender a família. Infopédia · prometer a · prometer por
✓ prometia-lhe amor eterno e um chapéu. · Prometeu combater a inflação. · prometeu que todo mês contribuiria. Michaelis
✓ Prometeram convocar logo o conselho. · Eu te prometo que o hei de fazer arrepender do seu procedimento. · Mau é nós prometermos. Aulete · R. da Silva · Castilho
✓ era domingo e prometia bom tempo. · o tempo promete chuva. · promete viver pouco. · louros que lhe prometiam sombra. Aulete · Rebelo · Dicio · Castilho · Camilo
✓ Jurou ao pai que nunca mais mentia. · Posso te garantir um bom dinheiro. Infopédia · Michaelis
✓ O cliente comprometeu-se a pagar a dívida. · Comprometeu-se com o diretor a manter o programa no ar. Infopédia · Aulete · Aluísio a cobrar
Constructed · the working frame
✓ Prometeu-lhes um aumento. constructed
✓ Prometeu-lhe combater a inflação. constructed
✓ O tempo promete chover. constructed
✓ Ser promissor. · Está prometido. constructed
lhes is the unprinted plural of Michaelis’s lhe, beside Aulete’s aumento · lhe plus combater joins two Michaelis strings · chover joins Dicio’s o tempo to an infinitive · promissor and prometido are printed · the copulas are not
Each sketch is a working drawing. The a drawing puts the person in a+DP and the clause in the indicative. The infinitive drawing leaves the act bare and gives it to the promiser. The prospect drawing has no Promisee, and keeps Camilo’s lhe as the line that still has one. The state drawing splits prometer from promissor and from prometido. Open one sketch at a time. Which theta role is the object is the revisable note Causative templates and argument selection. This page does not edit that note.
prometeu ao porteiro que voltaria · working, revisable
[ —
[ √promet
[ o técnico ] ← nominative
[ a o porteiro ] ← a+DP · Promisee
[ que voltaria ] ] ] ← conditional indicative
← lhe is the clitic of this person
← te does not spell the case
← para+DP unprinted
Prometeu-lhes um aumento is the plural clitic, constructed. Doubling of lhe with a+DP is unprinted.
✓ O técnico prometeu ao porteiro que voltaria à tarde. Aulete
✓ Prometeu-lhes um aumento. constructed
Prometeram convocar · working, revisable
[ —
[ √promet
[ Prometeram ] ← nominative · they convene
[ convocar ] ] ] ← bare infinitive
← no a, de, or di
← object control unprinted
← inflected complement unprinted
nós prometermos is the infinitive of this verb as the subject of é. It is not this complement. comprometer-se a pagar puts a on the infinitive of the other verb.
✓ Prometeram convocar logo o conselho. Aulete · R. da Silva
✓ Mau é nós prometermos. Castilho · not the pledged-act complement
o tempo promete chuva · promete viver · working, revisable
[ —
[ √promet
[ o tempo ] ← weather · not a promiser
[ chuva ] ] ] ← noun · no Promisee
[ —
[ √promet
[ Cosme ] ← he lives
[ viver pouco ] ] ] ← raising, working claim
[ —
[ √promet
[ louros ]
[ lhe ] ← dative kept
[ sombra ] ] ]
O tempo promete chover is constructed. The printed weather themes are nouns.
✓ o tempo promete chuva. Dicio
✓ promete viver pouco. Castilho
✓ O tempo promete chover. constructed
Copular coercion · working, revisable
[ —
[ √promet ] ] ← Este menino promete
← o tempo promete chuva
← verb-built
[ —
[ √promissor ] ] ← adjective · prospect state
[ —
[ √prometido ] ] ← participle · pledged state
← Ser promissor is constructed
← Está prometido is constructed
The dictionaries print the adjective and the participle. They do not print those two copular clauses.
✓ promissor Priberam · Infopédia · Michaelis prometedor
✓ Ser promissor. · Está prometido. constructed
Working paper · October 2026 · Portuguese micro-entry
prometer is a lexical verb. The Promiser is nominative. The Promisee is a+DP or dative lhe. The Theme is a direct object, a bare infinitive, or an indicative que-clause. The promiser controls the infinitive. The weather line has no Promisee. comprometer-se is a different frame.
Portuguese frames: Priberam, for prometer, prometer-se (the infinitivo flexionado label), promessa, promissor, comprometer, jurar, and garantir. Infopédia (Porto Editora), the language dictionary and the verb dictionary, for prometer, the infinitivo pessoal paradigm, infinitivo, jurar, comprometer / comprometeste, garantir, promessa, and promissor. Michaelis, for prometer, garantir, jurar (the senses, with no clause), comprometer, and promissor. Caldas Aulete, for prometer and comprometer, including the older block (R. da Silva, Camilo, Castilho). Dicio, for the gloss examples prometer uma recompensa, o tempo promete chuva, prometo aparecer, and esta criança promete muito. Constructed: Prometeu-lhes um aumento, Prometeu-lhe combater a inflação, O tempo promete chover, Ser promissor, and Está prometido. Houaiss was not opened. 501 Portuguese Verbs was not opened. No telicity claim is made.
Records prometer with the Promiser nominative, the Promisee a+DP or dative lhe, and the Theme a direct object, a bare infinitive, or an indicative que-clause. Records subject control on a working claim. Records the infinitivo pessoal of the verb itself, and leaves an inflected pledged-act infinitive unprinted. Records the prospect lines with no Promisee, and Camilo’s dative beside an inanimate subject. Records comprometer-se as reflexive, with a+infinitive and com+DP. Records shows-promise as verb-built prometer and state-built promissor / prometido. No telicity claim is made.