Breakdown of Завтра я отправлю документ другу.
друг
the friend
я
I
завтра
tomorrow
отправить
to send
документ
the document
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Questions & Answers about Завтра я отправлю документ другу.
What does Завтра mean, and why is it placed at the beginning of the sentence?
Завтра means “tomorrow.” Russian allows relatively free word order. Placing the time adverb at the start gives it emphasis or just follows the common “time–manner–place” pattern. You could also say Я завтра отправлю документ другу, but starting with Завтра stresses when the action happens.
Why isn't there a comma after Завтра?
In Russian, a single adverb of time at the beginning of a simple sentence does not require a comma. Commas appear only when there’s a longer introductory phrase or if the writer wants an extra pause for style.
What case is документ in, and why?
Документ is in the accusative case because it’s the direct object of the verb отправлю (“I will send”). For inanimate masculine nouns like документ, the accusative form is identical to the nominative.
Why is другу in the dative case, and why is there no preposition like к or в?
Другу is the indirect object (“to a friend”), so it takes the dative case. Many Russian verbs of giving or sending (отправить, дать, послать) allow a dative object without any preposition.
What are the tense and aspect of отправлю?
Отправлю is first person singular future tense of the perfective aspect of отправить. Perfective verbs describe completed or single actions.
Why use the perfective отправить instead of the imperfective отправлять?
Perfective отправить (→ отправлю) indicates a single, completed action: you will send it once and finish the sending. Imperfective отправлять (which would form a compound future: буду отправлять) suggests a process, repetition, or ongoing action (“I will be sending”).
Could we omit я in Завтра я отправлю документ другу? Why is the pronoun used?
Yes, you could say Завтра отправлю документ другу because the verb ending -лю already shows 1 st person singular. The pronoun я is included for clarity or emphasis (e.g. “I myself will send it, not someone else”).
How flexible is the word order here? Could I say Я завтра документ другу отправлю or Документ другу я отправлю завтра?
Very flexible. Russian uses word order to shift focus or emphasis, not to mark grammatical roles. All these variants are correct, each with a slightly different stress on the time, the document, or the recipient.
How do you pronounce отправлю, and where is the stress?
Pronunciation: [ot-prá-vlyu], with stress on the “а”. The cluster -вл- is pronounced [vl], so you articulate the “v” immediately followed by “l.”
What’s the difference between отправить and послать (or отослать)?
All three can mean “to send,” but:
- Отправить is neutral and common in formal and informal contexts (sending by post, email, etc.).
- Послать is more colloquial and may sound less formal.
- Оtosлать often emphasizes sending off something (like forwarding a letter) but is similar to отправить.
You’d choose based on style and nuance, but отправить is the safest general verb.