Ich bekomme die Rechnung per E-Mail.

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Breakdown of Ich bekomme die Rechnung per E-Mail.

• die E-Mail: the e-mail
• per: by
• die Rechnung: the invoice
• bekommen: to receive

Questions & Answers about Ich bekomme die Rechnung per E-Mail.

Why is die Rechnung in the accusative case and why does it look the same as the nominative singular?

“Rechnung” is a feminine noun. The accusative singular of all feminine nouns uses the article die, which coincides with the nominative singular form. Because bekommen is a transitive verb (it “takes” an object), die Rechnung is its direct (accusative) object.

Does bekommen require a dative object? Shouldn’t it be Ich bekomme mir die Rechnung?

No. When you receive something, that something is the direct (accusative) object, so you don’t use a dative pronoun mir.
If you want to emphasize the recipient in the passive, you could say Die Rechnung wird mir geschickt, but with bekommen you keep die Rechnung as the accusative object.

What does per mean here, and why do we use per E-Mail instead of mit or auf?

per in German translates to “via” or “by means of” when talking about a medium. So per E-Mail = “by email.”
You could also say mit der Post or per Post for physical mail; auf would not be used in this context.

Why is there no article before E-Mail after per?

With per + medium you typically drop the article: per Post, per Fax, per Telefon, per E-Mail.
Including an article (e.g. per der E-Mail) is grammatically possible but sounds awkward and is not standard usage.

Why is E-Mail hyphenated and capitalized?

All German nouns are capitalized. E-Mail is a loanword formed from the initials “E” (electronic) and “Mail,” and the hyphen prevents confusion with Email (enamel). It follows German orthography rules for foreign words starting with a single letter.

Can we say per Mail instead of per E-Mail?

Yes. In informal contexts you often hear per Mail. In more formal or precise texts, per E-Mail is preferred to avoid ambiguity.

Can we move per E-Mail to the beginning of the sentence, and where does the verb go then?

Yes. German follows the verb-second (V2) rule. If per E-Mail is the first element, the finite verb bekomme stays in the second position: Per E-Mail bekomme ich die Rechnung.