prometí
proh-meh-TEE
Quick Reference
📝 In Action
Le prometí a mi madre que volvería temprano.
A2I promised my mother I would return early.
Prometí no contarle a nadie nuestro secreto.
B1I promised not to tell anyone our secret.
Cuando era niño, prometí que viajaría por el mundo.
B1When I was a child, I promised I would travel the world.
💡 Grammar Points
Identifying the Speaker
Since 'prometí' ends in -í, it always means 'I' (yo) did the promising. You don't need to say 'Yo prometí,' but you can use 'Yo' for extra emphasis.
The Simple Past Tense (Preterite)
This form tells us the promising happened once and finished completely at a specific moment in the past. It's a single, completed action, like flipping a switch.
❌ Common Pitfalls
Preterite vs. Imperfect
Mistake: "Using 'prometía' when the promise was a single, specific event."
Correction: Use 'prometí' for the finished action ('I promised him yesterday'). 'Prometía' means 'I used to promise' or 'I was promising repeatedly.'
⭐ Usage Tips
Promising to Someone
When you promise something to a person, you usually need the preposition 'a': 'Prometí a mi hermana' (I promised my sister).
🔄 Conjugations
indicative
present
imperfect
preterite
subjunctive
present
imperfect
✏️ Quick Practice
💡 Quick Quiz: prometí
Question 1 of 2
If you are talking about a promise you made last week, which verb form is correct?
📚 More Resources
Frequently Asked Questions
Is 'prometí' a regular or irregular verb form?
'Prometí' is a conjugation of the verb 'prometer,' which is a regular verb. This means it follows the standard pattern for -er verbs in all tenses, making it easy to learn.
How do I say 'I broke my promise'?
The simplest and most common way is 'Incumplí mi promesa' (I failed to keep my promise) or 'Rompí mi promesa' (I broke my promise).