Breakdown of Der Vermieter schickt mir eine E-Mail, um die höhere Miete schriftlich zu bestätigen.
die E-Mail
the email
mir
me
um
in order to
schicken
to send
hoch
high
bestätigen
to confirm
die Miete
the rent
der Vermieter
the landlord
schriftlich
in writing
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Questions & Answers about Der Vermieter schickt mir eine E-Mail, um die höhere Miete schriftlich zu bestätigen.
Why is mir in the dative case and eine E-Mail in the accusative?
The verb schicken in German takes two objects:
- A dative object for the recipient (mir = “to me”).
- An accusative object for the thing being sent (eine E-Mail = “an email”).
What role does the um … zu construction play here?
um … zu introduces a purpose clause (“in order to…”). In German, you start with um, then after all other elements end the clause with zu + infinitive (here zu bestätigen).
Why does um die höhere Miete schriftlich zu bestätigen come at the end of the sentence?
German places subordinate clauses—including zu-infinitive clauses of purpose—at the end. The main clause (“Der Vermieter schickt mir eine E-Mail”) stays up front.
Why is schriftlich placed directly before zu bestätigen?
In a zu-infinitive clause, adverbs usually precede the infinitive verb. schriftlich modifies zu bestätigen, so it sits immediately in front of it.
Why do we say die höhere Miete instead of eine höhere Miete?
Because the sentence refers to a specific rent that has already been discussed or agreed upon, we use the definite article die. If it were any higher rent in general, eine could work, but here it’s “the higher rent” in question.
What kind of adjective form is höhere in die höhere Miete?
höhere is the comparative of hoch when used attributively. With die Miete (feminine singular accusative), the comparative takes the -e ending: die höhere Miete (“the higher rent”).
Why is E-Mail capitalized and hyphenated?
All German nouns are capitalized. E-Mail is a loanword treated as a noun. German orthography often uses a hyphen for such compounds or borrowings, hence E-Mail rather than lowercase or merged.
Could you replace schickt with sendet here? Would it change the meaning?
Yes, you can say Der Vermieter sendet mir eine E-Mail. The meaning stays the same. schicken is a bit more colloquial, while senden sounds slightly more formal or technical.
What gender is Vermieter, and how would you say “female landlord”?
Vermieter is masculine (der Vermieter). For a female landlord you use the feminine form die Vermieterin.