Breakdown of Я отправлю тебе документы по почте.
я
I
почта
post office
тебе
to you (informal)
документ
document
отправить
to send (perfective)
по
by means of, using
Questions & Answers about Я отправлю тебе документы по почте.
Why does the word почта change to почте after по?
The preposition по takes the dative case when used to mean 'by means of' a delivery or communication system. Because почта (mail) is a feminine noun ending in -а, its dative ending is -е, making it по почте.
Why use тебе instead of тебя?
тебе is the dative case of ты (you). We use the dative case for the person receiving something (the indirect object). Since you are sending the documents to someone, you need the dative тебе. If you used the accusative тебя, it would mean you are packing the person in a box and mailing them!
How can I tell that отправлю is future tense ('will send') rather than present tense?
The verb отправить is perfective, meaning it focuses on a completed result. When you conjugate a perfective verb using standard present-tense endings (like the -ю for 'I'), it automatically becomes the future tense in Russian. To say 'I am sending' right now, you would use the imperfective form: я отправляю.
Shouldn't документы be in the accusative case since it is the direct object?
It is in the accusative case! For inanimate plural nouns (things that are not alive, like documents), the accusative case looks exactly the same as the nominative (dictionary) case.
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