The article is an insight into linguistic features of performatives proceding from the analyses of Russian and English comissive speech acts. Language is understood as a means of a peculiar sort of actions carried out in the very process of pronouncing an utterance explicating a speech act. An analysis of key parameters of pragmatic communicative context is provided. These are essentials to provide a syncretic verbal act. Elements of comparative analysis are included.

performative speech acts, pragmatic communicative context, comissive verbs, linguistic properties of comissive utterances, Eglish comissives, comparative analysis.