Ich bekomme morgen die Tickets zugeschickt.

Breakdown of Ich bekomme morgen die Tickets zugeschickt.

ich
I
morgen
tomorrow
das Ticket
the ticket
zugeschickt bekommen
to get sent
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Questions & Answers about Ich bekomme morgen die Tickets zugeschickt.

What construction is this? Is bekomme … zugeschickt a kind of passive?

Yes. It’s the so‑called bekommen-passive (also called the recipient passive / Rezipientenpassiv). The recipient becomes the subject (Ich), the thing stays in the accusative (die Tickets), and the main verb appears as a past participle at the end (zugeschickt). It’s present tense (finite verb = bekomme), not the present perfect. Active source: Jemand schickt mir die Tickets (zu). → Recipient passive: Ich bekomme die Tickets zugeschickt.

Why is zugeschickt at the end?
German main clauses form a “verb bracket”: the finite verb (bekomme) is in position 2, and non‑finite parts go to the end. Also, zuschicken is a separable verb. In the normal active, you’d see the prefix go to the end: Ich schicke dir die Tickets zu. In the recipient passive, you use the participle zugeschickt at the end.
Why is it die Tickets and not something like den/dem Tickets?
Because in the recipient passive the item remains the accusative object. Tickets is plural; the accusative plural article is die. So: Ich bekomme morgen die Tickets zugeschickt.
Can I say Die Tickets werden mir zugeschickt instead? What’s the difference?

Yes. That’s the ordinary event/passive with werden:

  • Die Tickets werden mir zugeschickt. (subject = the tickets)
  • Focus: the tickets and the action done to them; a bit more impersonal/formal. Compare with the recipient passive:
  • Ich bekomme die Tickets zugeschickt. (subject = the recipient)
  • Focus: your perspective as receiver. Neutral, very common in speech.
Should there be a dative pronoun mir here? Is Ich bekomme mir die Tickets zugeschickt OK?

No. In the recipient passive, the recipient is already the subject (ich), so adding mir would be ungrammatical. If you want to mention the sender, use von + Dative:

  • Ich bekomme die Tickets morgen von der Agentur zugeschickt. With the werden-passive, you keep the dative: Die Tickets werden mir zugeschickt.
Is kriege or erhalte interchangeable with bekomme?
  • bekomme(n): neutral, very common.
  • kriege(n): informal/colloquial. Ich kriege morgen die Tickets zugeschickt.
  • erhalte(n): formal/bureaucratic. Typically: Ich erhalte morgen die Tickets (zugesandt).
Do I need the prefix zu-? What about schicken/senden/zusenden and the participles gesendet/gesandt?
  • You can say either zugeschickt or simply geschickt: Ich bekomme die Tickets (zu)geschickt.
  • Similarly with senden/zusenden: Ich bekomme die Tickets (zu)gesendet/zugesandt.
  • Nuance: zu- emphasizes “to someone” and is idiomatic; without zu- is also fine.
  • senden has two participles: gesendet (more common/general/technical) and gesandt (more formal/literary or in set phrases). Both are accepted.
Why does the participle look like zugeschickt (with ge) and as one word?

For separable verbs, the ge- of the past participle sits between the prefix and the stem, and the whole thing is written as one word:

  • zu + geschickt → zugeschickt
  • Compare: aufmachen → aufgemacht, abschicken → abgeschickt
Where does morgen go? Can I move it?

Time adverbs typically come early in the middle field. All of these are fine:

  • Ich bekomme morgen die Tickets zugeschickt. (very typical)
  • Ich bekomme die Tickets morgen zugeschickt.
  • Fronted (emphasis on time): Morgen bekomme ich die Tickets zugeschickt.
How do I mention the sender or the delivery method?
  • Sender: use von + Dative: … von der Agentur / vom Veranstalter
  • Method: per E‑Mail, per Post, mit der Post, als PDF
    Example with typical order (Time – Manner – Place is a good rule of thumb):
  • Ich bekomme morgen die Tickets per E‑Mail von der Agentur zugeschickt.
How do I negate this?

Place nicht after time and the object, before the participle:

  • Ich bekomme morgen die Tickets nicht zugeschickt. If you want to negate something specific (e.g., the time or method), move nicht accordingly: Ich bekomme die Tickets nicht morgen, sondern heute.
How do I express future or past with this construction?
  • Near future: present + time adverb is standard: Ich bekomme morgen …
  • Explicit future (heavier): Ich werde die Tickets morgen zugeschickt bekommen.
  • Perfect (past): Ich habe gestern die Tickets zugeschickt bekommen.
  • Simple past: Ich bekam gestern die Tickets zugeschickt.
Can I use lassen to say I arrange for the tickets to be sent?

Yes, that emphasizes your initiative:

  • Ich lasse mir die Tickets zuschicken. (I’m having them sent to me.) This differs subtly from Ich bekomme … zugeschickt (focus on receiving rather than arranging).
Can I drop the article and just say Tickets?

Yes, for an indefinite plural:

  • Ich bekomme morgen Tickets zugeschickt. (some tickets, not specific ones)
  • With a specific set (already known/mentioned), keep die: Ich bekomme morgen die Tickets zugeschickt.