Learn Hardcore Japanese: syouhin ha kyou hassousarete, asita no gogo ni toutyakusuru yotei desu. - The item will be shipped today and is scheduled to arrive tomorrow afternoon.

は marks the topic: “as for the product.” It sets what the sentence is about rather than marking the grammatical subject. It’s a natural choice in updates or notices where the item is already known to both speaker and listener.

Why is 発送されて in the passive and in the て-form instead of something like 発送しました?

Passive (発送されて) puts the focus on the item undergoing the action (it was shipped), without naming the shipper. This is very common in Japanese when the agent isn’t important.
The て-form links clauses: “having been shipped today, (it) is scheduled to arrive…”
If the sender talks about their own action, they might use active polite: 本日発送しました／本日発送いたしました (“We shipped it today.”).

Does 発送されて mean “was shipped” even though it’s not in the past tense?

Yes. In Japanese, tense is determined mainly by the final predicate (到着する予定です). Earlier て-form verbs are understood relative to it. Here, “shipped today” is a prior event leading into the current schedule statement.

What does the て in 発送されて express here—“and” or “so”?

It’s a neutral linker, closest to “and (then).” It sequences events without strongly stating cause. You can read it as “It was shipped today, and it is scheduled to arrive tomorrow afternoon.”

Why use 到着する予定です instead of just 到着します?

到着する予定です frames arrival as a planned/scheduled event, leaving room for uncertainty—perfect for delivery estimates. 到着します sounds like a plain assertion of fact. Related nuances:

〜予定 = planned/scheduled.
〜はず = should (based on reasoning).
〜つもり = intention (speaker’s plan; not used for inanimate items arriving).
〜見込み = forecast/expected likelihood.

What’s the difference between 到着する and 届く for packages?

到着する = to arrive at a place/time (location/time oriented). Used for shipments, vehicles, flights, or packages reaching a hub or destination.
届く = to be delivered/reach the recipient (delivery/result oriented). Everyday speech often prefers 荷物が明日届く. Business updates may use either, with 到着 sounding a bit more formal.

Why is there の in 明日の午後? Can I drop it?

の links the nouns: “tomorrow’s afternoon.” In normal prose/speech, keep の: 明日の午後. Dropping の (明日午後) is a clipped, headline-style shorthand seen in timetables or notices.

Do we need に after 午後? When can に be omitted with times?

に marks a specific time point. With days like 今日／明日／昨日, に is often omitted; with clock times it’s usually kept. With “tomorrow afternoon,” both are acceptable:

明日の午後に到着する予定です (clear/standard)
明日の午後到着する予定です (also natural, especially in speech or concise notices)

Can I move the time expression to a different position?

Yes, time phrases are flexible:

商品は明日の午後に到着する予定です。
明日の午後に、商品は到着する予定です。 Both are fine. Topic (商品は) and time expressions typically come early for clarity.

How do you read 今日 and 明日 here?

今日 = きょう (kyō)
明日 = あした (ashita) in everyday speech; あす (asu) is more formal/written Other readings you’ll see here: 発送はっそう, 午後ごご, 到着とうちゃく, 予定よてい.

Can に also mark the place with 到着する? How would I say “arrive in Tokyo at 3 PM”?

Yes. 到着する takes に for both place and time:

Natural: 午後3時に東京に到着します。 or 東京には午後3時に到着します。 Using には on the place helps readability when you also have a time に.

Is the comma after 発送されて necessary?

No. It’s optional and aids readability. Both are fine:

発送されて、明日の午後に…
発送されて明日の午後に…

Is 予定 a noun? How does です work here?

Yes, 予定 is a noun (“schedule/plan”). です is the polite copula attaching to nouns:

Plain: 到着する予定だ
Polite: 到着する予定です
Negative: 到着する予定ではありません／予定じゃない
Past: 到着する予定でした

How would this sound in more formal business Japanese?

商品は本日発送され、明日午後に到着する予定でございます。
Split style: 商品は本日発送いたしました。明日午後に到着する予定でございます。 Concise notice style: 明日午後到着予定です。

Can I shorten 到着する予定です to 到着予定です or 到着の予定です?

Yes:

到着予定です is a very common, compact notice style.
到着の予定です is also correct and slightly more formal/explicit. All three mean essentially the same thing here.

What changes if I use 商品が instead of 商品は?

商品が makes “the product” the grammatical subject and puts focus on it (“it is the product that…”), which can sound contrastive or emphasize new information. For neutral updates, 商品は as a topic is more natural.