Breakdown of Wir schicken sie ihm im März.
wir
we
sie
they
schicken
to send
ihm
him / it / to him / to it (dative)
im
in the (used with months) / in the (contraction of in + dem)
der März
March
Questions & Answers about Wir schicken sie ihm im März.
Why is the word order sie ihm and not ihm sie?
When a sentence has two object pronouns, the accusative pronoun (the direct object, sie) always comes before the dative pronoun (the indirect object, ihm). This is a strict word order rule in German!
How do we know which pronoun is the direct object and which is the indirect object here?
We are sending them (the items being sent), making sie the accusative direct object. We are sending them to him (the person receiving the items), making ihm the dative indirect object.
Could sie in this sentence also mean "she" or "you"?
It cannot mean the formal "you" (Sie) because it is not capitalized. It could technically mean "her" (the accusative form of "she"), meaning "We are sending her to him." However, without other context, a lowercase sie as an object usually means "them".
Why do we use im before März?
The word im is a contraction of in dem. In German, months are masculine and always take the dative preposition in plus the article dem when talking about when something happens. So, "in March" is always im März.
The English translation says "are sending", but isn't schicken just the regular present tense?
Yes! In German, the simple present tense is frequently used to talk about the future, especially when a specific future time is mentioned, like im März. You don't need to add a future tense helping verb here.
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