Die Bestätigung wird morgen per E‑Mail geschickt.

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Questions & Answers about Die Bestätigung wird morgen per E‑Mail geschickt.

Why does the sentence start with Die Bestätigung? What case is it?

Die Bestätigung is the subject of the sentence, so it is in the nominative case.

  • Bestätigung is a feminine noun.
  • The nominative singular article for feminine nouns is die.

So:

  • die Bestätigung = the confirmation

Even though English learners often associate die with plural nouns, here it is singular feminine, not plural.


What does wird ... geschickt mean? Why are there two parts?

This is the passive voice in German.

German often forms the passive with:

  • werden
    • past participle

Here:

  • wird = present tense of werden
  • geschickt = past participle of schicken (to send)

So:

  • wird geschickt = is sent
  • with morgen in the sentence, it naturally means will be sent tomorrow

This is called the present passive in form, but because of morgen, the meaning is future.


Why is geschickt at the end of the sentence?

Because in a normal German main clause, the sentence often has a verb bracket:

  • the finite verb goes in second position
  • the other verb part goes to the end

So in this sentence:

  • Die Bestätigung = position 1
  • wird = position 2
  • morgen per E‑Mail = middle part
  • geschickt = final verb part

This is very common in German with:

  • compound tenses
  • modal verbs
  • passive constructions

Why is wird in second position?

German main clauses usually follow the V2 rule, meaning the finite verb must be in the second position.

In this sentence:

  • Die Bestätigung is the first element
  • so wird must come second

That gives:

  • Die Bestätigung wird ...

If you moved another element to the front, wird would still stay second:

  • Morgen wird die Bestätigung per E‑Mail geschickt.

So it is not about the second word, but the second sentence element.


Why is morgen placed before per E‑Mail?

That is a very typical German word order choice.

German often prefers adverbial information in the order:

  • time before manner/method before place

Here:

  • morgen = time
  • per E‑Mail = method/channel

So morgen per E‑Mail sounds very natural.

Other orders are possible in some contexts, especially for emphasis, but this order is the most neutral and standard here.


What does per E‑Mail mean, and why is there no article?

Per E‑Mail means by email or via email.

The preposition per is commonly used in German for means of communication or transport, especially in fixed expressions like:

  • per E‑Mail
  • per Post
  • per Telefon (less common than telefonisch or am Telefon, but possible)

In these expressions, German often uses the noun without an article.

So:

  • per E‑Mail = by email

This is just the normal idiomatic phrasing.


Why is it E‑Mail and not just Mail?

In standard German, E‑Mail is the normal full word for email.

People do sometimes say Mail in everyday speech, especially informally, but:

  • E‑Mail is the safer and more standard form
  • per E‑Mail is a very common fixed expression

So for learners, E‑Mail is the best version to know.


Is this sentence present tense or future tense?

Grammatically, the form is present tense passive:

  • wird geschickt = literally is sent

But because the sentence contains morgen (tomorrow), the meaning is clearly future:

  • The confirmation will be sent tomorrow.

This is very common in German. German often uses the present tense to talk about the future when the time is clear from context.

So the sentence is:

  • present in form
  • future in meaning

Could German also say Die Bestätigung wird morgen per E‑Mail gesendet?

Yes. That would also be correct.

Both schicken and senden can mean to send.

Very roughly:

  • schicken is often the more everyday, general verb
  • senden can sound a bit more formal or technical in some contexts

So both of these are fine:

  • Die Bestätigung wird morgen per E‑Mail geschickt.
  • Die Bestätigung wird morgen per E‑Mail gesendet.

The first one sounds very natural in ordinary communication.


Why is it Bestätigung and not a verb form like bestätigen?

Because here we need a noun, not a verb.

  • bestätigen = to confirm
  • die Bestätigung = the confirmation

German often forms nouns from verbs, and Bestätigung is the noun related to bestätigen.

So the sentence is talking about the confirmation itself as a thing that will be sent.


Could this sentence be written in the active voice instead?

Yes. An active version would name the person or thing doing the sending.

For example:

  • Wir schicken die Bestätigung morgen per E‑Mail.
    = We will send the confirmation by email tomorrow.

The passive version:

  • Die Bestätigung wird morgen per E‑Mail geschickt.

does not mention who sends it. That is why passive is useful here: the action matters more than the sender.


Can morgen also mean in the morning?

Yes, but context matters.

  • morgen with a small m usually means tomorrow
  • Morgen with a capital M is the noun morning

In writing, all nouns are capitalized in German, so:

  • morgen = tomorrow
  • am Morgen = in the morning

In your sentence, morgen is clearly the adverb tomorrow.


How would this sentence change in a subordinate clause?

In a subordinate clause, the finite verb moves to the end.

Main clause:

  • Die Bestätigung wird morgen per E‑Mail geschickt.

Subordinate clause:

  • ..., weil die Bestätigung morgen per E‑Mail geschickt wird.

Notice what changed:

  • in the main clause: wird is second
  • in the subordinate clause: geschickt wird goes to the end

That is a very important German word order pattern.


Is Die Bestätigung pronounced with a clear -ung ending?

Yes. The ending -ung is very common in German nouns and is pronounced approximately like oong in English, but with a shorter, more German vowel sound.

So Bestätigung is roughly:

  • be-SHTEH-ti-goong

Not a perfect English spelling, but close enough to help.

Also useful:

  • the stress is on : Bestä́tigung

And sch in geschickt is pronounced like English sh.


Why doesn’t German use a word for the before E‑Mail here?

Because per E‑Mail works as a fixed prepositional phrase meaning by email.

German often omits the article in these kinds of expressions, especially when talking about the method or medium in a general way.

Compare the idea in English:

  • by email
    not usually
  • by the email

So the German structure is behaving similarly here.


Could the sentence begin with Morgen instead?

Yes:

  • Morgen wird die Bestätigung per E‑Mail geschickt.

This is completely correct.

German allows different elements to come first for emphasis or topic choice. But whichever element comes first, the finite verb still stays in second position.

So compare:

  • Die Bestätigung wird morgen per E‑Mail geschickt.
  • Morgen wird die Bestätigung per E‑Mail geschickt.

Both are correct; they just place attention slightly differently.