Questions & Answers about Obećavam da neću varati.
Why is it Obećavam and not some shorter form like Obećam?
Obećavam is the 1st person singular present tense of the verb obećavati/obećati: I promise.
In this sentence, Obećavam means I am promising / I promise.
Why not obećam? Because:
- obećavam is the normal present-tense form used for I promise
- obećam can exist as a form of the perfective verb obećati, but perfective present forms in Serbian often refer to a future-like completed action or appear in specific contexts, not usually as the ordinary neutral I promise here
So for a straightforward promise, Obećavam is the natural choice.
Why is there da after Obećavam?
In Serbian, da often introduces a subordinate clause, especially after verbs like:
- obećavati / obećati = to promise
- misliti = to think/intend
- želeti = to want
- nadati se = to hope
So Obećavam da... literally means something like:
- I promise that...
In English, we can say both:
- I promise I won’t cheat
- I promise that I won’t cheat
Serbian generally uses da here.