Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[learner1]

Hello,

'The government must commit itself to improving health care.'

Could we change the above sentence to:
"The government must commit to improve health care"?

Does 'commit' mean 'promise' here?

Thank you very much.

[asterix]

You could say it as you propose, but it would not be as good English as the original sentence.
Commit means more than promise:- it means that you pledge or bind yourself to achieving a result. So, you not only promise, but you do everything you can to achieve what you have promised.

[learner1]

Hello asterix,

I see! And thank you very much for your explanation.