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Breakdown of Ich sende dir das Dokument per E‑Mail.
ich
I
dir
you
das Dokument
the document
senden
to send
per
by
die E‑Mail
the e‑mail
Questions & Answers about Ich sende dir das Dokument per E‑Mail.
Why is dir used here instead of dich?
In German, verbs like senden take two objects: the thing being sent is the direct object (accusative), and the recipient is the indirect object (dative). dir is the dative pronoun for “you” (informal). dich is the accusative pronoun and would wrongly mark you as the direct object.
How do I know that das Dokument is in the accusative case?
das Dokument is what is being sent, so it’s the direct object of senden and must be in the accusative. The article das is the correct accusative form for a neuter noun. Context (it’s the receiver of the action) confirms it’s accusative.
Why does the sentence place dir before das Dokument instead of the other way around?
When you have a pronoun object and a noun object, German normally puts the pronoun first. So dir (a pronoun) precedes das Dokument (a noun). If both were nouns, you’d often see the accusative before the dative, but pronouns always come earlier.
What does per mean in per E‑Mail, and which case does E‑Mail take?
per is a preposition meaning “via” or “by means of.” In German it governs the accusative case, so E‑Mail remains uninflected (same form for nominative and accusative). Together, per E‑Mail literally means “by email.”
Why is E‑Mail capitalized and hyphenated?
German rules require all nouns to be capitalized. E‑Mail is a loanword treated as a noun, and the hyphen is the standard way in German orthography to form this compound from “E” (electronic) and “Mail.”
Can I say Ich schicke dir das Dokument per E‑Mail instead of Ich sende?
Yes. schicken and senden are interchangeable here. senden is a bit more formal or technical, while schicken is more colloquial and extremely common in everyday speech.
Are there other ways to express “via email” in German?
Definitely. You can say per Mail, per E‑Mail, via E‑Mail (borrowing English via), or even use the verb mailen informally: Ich maile dir das Dokument. All are understood.
Can I drop Ich and say Sende dir das Dokument per E‑Mail?
No, German typically requires the subject pronoun with finite verbs unless you’re using the imperative. Sende dir das Dokument… would sound like a command (“Send yourself the document!”). To state that you are doing it, you need Ich.
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“How do German cases work?”
German has four grammatical cases: nominative (subject), accusative (direct object), dative (indirect object), and genitive (possession). The case determines the form of articles and adjectives. For example, "the dog" is "der Hund" as a subject but "den Hund" as a direct object.
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