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Breakdown of Wir senden den Artikel per E-Mail an die Redaktion.
wir
we
die E-Mail
the e-mail
an
to
senden
to send
per
by
der Artikel
the article
die Redaktion
the editorial office
Questions & Answers about Wir senden den Artikel per E-Mail an die Redaktion.
Why is den Artikel in the accusative case in this sentence?
Because Artikel is the direct object of the verb senden. Any noun that receives the action of the verb directly takes the accusative in German. Since der Artikel is masculine, its accusative form becomes den Artikel.
What role does per E-Mail play, and why is there no article after per?
per E-Mail is an adverbial prepositional phrase indicating the means or method—“by email.” The preposition per always stands alone without an article, much like “by” in English. You don’t say per der E-Mail, you simply say per E-Mail.
Why is an die Redaktion in the accusative and not the dative?
The preposition an is a two-way (Wechsel-) preposition.
- When it describes location (“at the editorial office”), it would take the dative.
- When it expresses direction or goal (“to the editorial office”), it takes the accusative.
Here we are sending something to the Redaktion, so it’s an die Redaktion.
Why is per E-Mail placed before an die Redaktion? Can I switch their order?
German word order for adverbials often follows the sequence Time–Manner–Place (TMP).
- per E-Mail tells us the manner/means,
- an die Redaktion tells us the place/direction.
Putting per E-Mail before an die Redaktion follows this TMP guideline. You could switch them, but it sounds less natural:
“Wir senden den Artikel an die Redaktion per E-Mail.”
Can I replace senden with schicken or mailen?
Yes.
- schicken is a very common synonym ("Wir schicken den Artikel…").
- verschicken emphasises that you’re sending something away.
- mailen is a colloquial Anglicism: “to mail.”
In formal or neutral written German, senden or schicken are preferred over mailen.
Could I say mit der E-Mail instead of per E-Mail?
Grammatically, mit der E-Mail (“with the email”) is understandable but unusual. German speakers almost always use per E-Mail or simply per Mail to express “by email.”
Why is the definite article required in an die Redaktion? Can we drop die?
Redaktion here refers to a specific editorial team or office, so it needs the definite article die. Dropping the article (an Redaktion) would sound incomplete or unidiomatic in German.
More from this lesson
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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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