بدلا من أن ترسل الطرد، اتصل بشركة الشحن.

بدلا من is a very common expression meaning instead of.

Grammatically, بدلا is an adverbial expression, and من follows it to introduce what is being replaced. So:

• بدلا من أن ترسل الطرد = instead of sending the package

You will often see بدلًا من written with tanwīn fatḥ in fully vowelled text, but in normal writing it often appears simply as بدلا من.

After بدلا من, Arabic often uses either:

• أن + verb
• or a verbal noun (maṣdar)

So بدلا من أن ترسل literally means instead of that you send and functions like instead of sending in English.

This structure is very common in Modern Standard Arabic because it lets Arabic express an action as an idea or event.

For example:

• بدلا من أن تنتظر = instead of waiting
• بدلا من أن تكتب = instead of writing

Yes. A very natural alternative is:

• بدلا من إرسال الطرد، اتصل بشركة الشحن.

Here, إرسال is the verbal noun of أرسل.

So both are correct:

• بدلا من أن ترسل الطرد...
• بدلا من إرسال الطرد...

The version with أن + verb may feel a bit more direct and easier for learners to understand, while the verbal-noun version is often a little more compact.

ترسل here is the imperfect verb meaning you send, addressed to one masculine singular person.

The verb is from أرسل = to send.

Its imperfect forms include:

• أُرسل = I send
• تُرسل = you send / she sends
• يُرسل = he sends
• نُرسل = we send

In normal unvowelled writing, تُرسل is written simply as ترسل.

So in this sentence, أن ترسل means that you send or more naturally in English, sending.

اتصل is the imperative form of the verb اتصل بـ = to contact / get in touch with / call.

Here it is a command addressed to one masculine singular person:

• اتصل = contact! / call!

This verb is from Form VIII:

• past: اتصل
• imperfect: يتصل
• imperative: اتصل

So the second part of the sentence is a command:

• اتصل بشركة الشحن = contact the shipping company

Because اتصل is normally used with بـ when it means to contact or to get in touch with someone.

So Arabic says:

• اتصل بفلان = contact so-and-so
• اتصل بالشركة = contact the company

This is just something you need to learn with the verb:
اتصل بـ

It is similar to how some English verbs naturally go with certain prepositions.

Because the verb اتصل requires بـ, as mentioned above.

So:

• اتصل بشركة الشحن = contact the shipping company

Without بـ, the phrase would sound incomplete or ungrammatical with this verb in standard usage.

شركة الشحن is an iḍāfa construction, often called a genitive construction.

It consists of:

• شركة = company
• الشحن = shipping

Together:

• شركة الشحن = the shipping company

A few important points about iḍāfa:

• The first noun usually does not take ال
• The second noun can be definite
• The whole phrase becomes definite because the second noun is definite

So شركة الشحن means the shipping company, not just a shipping company.

الطرد means the package / the parcel.

It is definite because the sentence is talking about a specific package, not just any package in general.

So:

• ترسل طردًا = send a package
• ترسل الطرد = send the package

In this sentence, the definite form fits the idea that both speaker and listener know which package is being discussed.

In Arabic, the basic dictionary form of the imperative is often given in the masculine singular.

So اتصل is a command to one male.

Other forms would be:

• اتصلي = to one female
• اتصلا = to two people
• اتصلوا = to a group of males or a mixed group
• اتصلن = to a group of females

So if you were speaking to a woman, you would say:

• بدلا من أن ترسلي الطرد، اتصلي بشركة الشحن.

Yes. ترسل here matches the same implied person as اتصل: you masculine singular.

So the sentence is internally consistent:

• أن ترسل = that you send
• اتصل = contact!

If the sentence were addressed to a woman, both verbs would change:

• بدلا من أن ترسلي الطرد، اتصلي بشركة الشحن.

Because Arabic usually does not need an explicit subject pronoun when the verb already shows the person.

So instead of saying something like you contact the shipping company, Arabic simply says:

• اتصل بشركة الشحن

The subject you is already understood from the imperative form.

This is very normal in Arabic and makes the sentence more natural.

The comma separates:

1. the instead of phrase
2. the main command

So the structure is:

• بدلا من أن ترسل الطرد = instead of sending the package
• اتصل بشركة الشحن = contact the shipping company

The comma helps readability, much like in English. In Arabic punctuation, this is common, though punctuation can sometimes vary.

A fully vowelled version would be:

بَدَلًا مِنْ أَنْ تُرْسِلَ الطَّرْدَ، اتَّصِلْ بِشَرِكَةِ الشَّحْنِ.

A few notes:

• تُرْسِلَ is in the subjunctive after أن
• الطَّرْدَ is the direct object, so it takes fatḥa
• اتَّصِلْ is the imperative
• بِشَرِكَةِ الشَّحْنِ is governed by the preposition بِ, so شركة is in the genitive

Because أن before an imperfect verb normally puts that verb into the subjunctive in MSA.

So in full vocalization:

• indicative: تُرسِلُ
• after أن: تُرسِلَ

In everyday unvowelled writing, both appear as ترسل, so you do not see the difference unless the text is vowelled or you analyze the grammar.

It can mean either, depending on context.

• اتصل بشركة الشحن can mean contact the shipping company
• In many contexts, it can also naturally mean call the shipping company

So the verb is broader than just telephone, but a phone call is often one likely interpretation.