Questions & Answers about Zij beloven de gijzelaar niet te doden.
Since this lesson is about object control (e.g., 'Zij dwingt hem te luisteren'), why isn't the object doing the action here?
Verbs of forcing, advising, or ordering use "object control" because the object performs the action. However, beloven (to promise) is a classic exception that uses "subject control". Just like in English, the subject of the main clause (Zij) is the one who will (or will not) perform the action in the te clause (doden).
Is de gijzelaar the object of beloven or the object of doden?
It is the direct object of doden (to kill). The entire phrase de gijzelaar niet te doden is the thing being promised. If you wanted to add someone receiving the promise (an indirect object of beloven), it would look like this: Zij beloven de politie [om] de gijzelaar niet te doden (They promise the police not to kill the hostage).
Why is niet placed right before te doden?
In Dutch, niet generally sits as close as possible before the specific element it negates. Here, it negates the infinitive verb te doden, meaning they do make a promise, but it is a promise not to kill. To say they don't make a promise at all, you would negate the main verb instead: Zij beloven niet de gijzelaar te doden.
Could I use om in this sentence?
Yes, you can absolutely say Zij beloven om de gijzelaar niet te doden. When a te-infinitive clause contains its own direct object (de gijzelaar) or modifiers, adding om at the start of the clause is completely optional but very common, as it makes the sentence easier to parse.
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