Ele faz uma promessa aos amigos.

He makes a promise to his friends.

Breakdown of Ele faz uma promessa aos amigos.

• o amigo: the friend
• ele: he
• uma: a
• a: to
• fazer: to make
• a promessa: the promise

Questions & Answers about Ele faz uma promessa aos amigos.

Why is faz used here, and what tense and person does it represent?

faz is the third-person singular present indicative form of the irregular verb fazer, which means to make or to do. In this sentence, Ele faz literally means He makes. Note that fazer is irregular: for example, eu faço, tu fazes, nós fazemos, but ele/ela faz.

What’s the difference between fazer uma promessa and prometer? Can I use them interchangeably?

Both expressions mean to promise.

• fazer uma promessa is a periphrastic construction literally “to make a promise.”
• prometer is the simple verb “to promise.”
  In most contexts they’re interchangeable, though prometer is more concise, while fazer uma promessa can slightly emphasize the act of making or formalizing the promise.

Why is aos amigos used rather than para os amigos or com os amigos?

With fazer uma promessa, Portuguese uses the dative: a + indirect object. When a meets the masculine plural article os, they contract to aos. Hence aos amigos = to the friends.

• para os amigos could mean for the friends, which shifts the nuance.
• com os amigos would mean with the friends, which changes the meaning completely.

Why is there an indefinite article uma before promessa? Can it be omitted?

Promessa is a feminine, countable noun, so it normally requires an article or another determiner.

• Omitting the article (Ele faz promessa) sounds unnatural in European Portuguese.
• You could make it plural (Ele faz promessas aos amigos) or use a definite article if you mean a specific promise (Ele faz a promessa aos amigos).

Can I change the word order to Aos amigos ele faz uma promessa? Does that alter the meaning?

Yes. Placing aos amigos at the beginning is perfectly grammatical and simply shifts the emphasis onto to his friends. The core meaning remains the same.

How do you pronounce promessa, and on which syllable is the stress?

promessa is pronounced pro-MES-sa, with the stress on the second syllable. The final -a is an unstressed vowel, similar to the ‘a’ in the English word sofa.