Breakdown of Ils promettent de rendre l'argent.
ils
they (masculine/mixed)
de
of / from / any (in negative sentences) / about (concerning)
l'argent
the money (m)
rendre
to return, to give back
promettre
to promise
Questions & Answers about Ils promettent de rendre l'argent.
Why do we need the word de before rendre?
In French, the verb promettre (to promise) requires the preposition de when it is followed by an infinitive verb (an unconjugated verb). So, "to promise to do something" is always promettre de faire quelque chose.
How do you conjugate promettre?
Doesn't rendre mean "to visit" or "to make"?
Rendre changes meaning based on the context! When talking about borrowed objects or money, it simply means "to return" or "to give back". You are probably remembering the phrases rendre visite à (to visit a person) or rendre followed by an adjective (to make someone feel a certain way, like ça me rend triste).
This lesson is about lui and leur. Where would I put lui if I wanted to say "They promise to return the money TO HIM"?
You would place the indirect object pronoun lui right before the verb it logically applies to. Since they are returning the money to him, the pronoun goes immediately before the infinitive rendre: Ils promettent de lui rendre l'argent.
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