Breakdown of Ich weiß nicht, ob er sich versprochen hat.
ich
I
er
he
haben
to have
nicht
not
wissen
to know (a fact)
ob
whether / if
sich versprechen
to misspeak
Questions & Answers about Ich weiß nicht, ob er sich versprochen hat.
I thought versprechen meant "to promise". Why does it mean "misspoke" here?
This is where the prefix ver- shows its "mistake" function! While versprechen usually means "to promise", using it reflexively (sich versprechen) changes the meaning. Here, the ver- acts like the English "mis-" in "misspoke", meaning someone spoke incorrectly or made a slip of the tongue.
Is the reflexive pronoun sich absolutely required here?
Yes! To mean "to make a slip of the tongue", the verb must be reflexive: sich versprechen. If you drop the sich, the verb goes back to its other meaning of "to promise". For example, Er hat es versprochen means "He promised it".
Why is the past participle versprochen instead of having a ge- at the beginning?
The prefix ver- is inseparable. Verbs with inseparable prefixes never take the ge- prefix in the perfect tense. The verb still undergoes its normal vowel change for the past participle, but it just stays versprochen.
Why does the helping verb hat go all the way at the end of the sentence?
The word ob (meaning "if" or "whether") is a subordinating conjunction. It introduces a dependent clause, which always forces the conjugated verb—in this case, the helping verb hat—to the very end.
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