Breakdown of Annas Rechnung wurde zuzüglich der Versandkosten geschickt.
Anna
Anna
die Rechnung
the bill
schicken
to send
werden
to be (passive auxiliary + past participle)
zuzüglich
plus
die Versandkosten
the shipping costs
Questions & Answers about Annas Rechnung wurde zuzüglich der Versandkosten geschickt.
Why is the plural word Versandkosten preceded by der in this sentence?
The formal preposition zuzüglich (plus / adding) requires the genitive case. Because Versandkosten (shipping costs) is a plural noun, it must take the plural genitive definite article, which is der.
Would I use zuzüglich in everyday spoken conversation?
Usually not. Prepositions of calculation like zuzüglich (plus/including) and abzüglich (minus/less) are very formal. They belong in business, legal, or financial contexts, which is why it appears here with an invoice (Rechnung). In casual speech, you would just use plus or mit.
I often see zuzüglich Versandkosten on German websites without the der. Is that grammatically correct?
Yes. When a plural noun stands alone without an article or a declined adjective to clearly show the genitive case, German often drops the article entirely (or sometimes switches to the dative case). However, including der as done in this sentence is the most formal and grammatically complete way to write it.
Why does the sentence use wurde geschickt instead of war geschickt?
This uses the simple past (Präteritum) of the standard passive voice (Vorgangspassiv) to focus on the action of the invoice being sent. If you used war geschickt (the state passive or Zustandspassiv), it would focus on the condition of the invoice already being in a sent state rather than the event of sending it.
Why doesn't Annas have an apostrophe to show possession like it would in English?
In German, the genitive 's' that shows possession is attached directly to the name without an apostrophe. You only use an apostrophe for possession in German if the name already ends in an s-sound (for example, Max' or Lars').
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