Headword
Language German · three-place sending · senden on this page where a dictionary prints it · zuschicken, zusenden, verschicken, wegschicken, and abschicken only where a dictionary prints them
Sender, Theme, Recipient or Goal · German cloth · working claim, revisable
Voice[Sender] + low Appl(Recipient) or a PP Goal inside the verb’s domain + complement of the root (Theme)
schicken · ThemeACC · RecipientDAT or an+accusative · a place Goal is nach, in, or zu · a person-dative beside a place is printed
senden · the same two person-cloths, marked gehoben on the transfer sense · Duden prints jemandem einen Brief and etwas an jemanden senden
A sending, on this reading, has a Sender, a Theme, and a third participant that is not one marking. Voice adds the Sender. The root’s complement is the Theme, accusative: the letter, the goods, or the person who is sent. The third slot splits. A bare dative is drawn as a Recipient, a low Appl inside the verb’s domain, the same kind of added argument as the dative Learner on beibringen. A PP is drawn as a Goal inside the verb’s domain: an, nach, in, or zu. That split is a working drawing. It is not a settled analysis. an plus a person may be the same participant as the dative, spelled as a PP. The dictionaries print both and do not rank them.
What is different from the English gloss. Cambridge prints the person of send as a double object, labeled [+ two objects], in I'll send her a letter/email/parcel/postcard next week, and also in to, in Could you send a reply to them as quickly as possible? A place in the articles opened is to or into (Send a letter to my office, sent relief workers to the region). A place as the first object, send Paris a letter, is unprinted. German prints the person as a bare dative and as an+accusative, and prints that dative beside a place: Duden’s die Waren werden [Ihnen] ins Haus geschickt. A place in the dative slot is unprinted.
The three-place lines do not stack every marking in one clause. The WDG’s jmdm., an jmdn. Geld, einen Bericht, Brief … schicken prints the dative and an+accusative as alternatives beside one accusative Theme. Duden’s senden, marked gehoben, prints both cloths as separate lines: jemandem einen Brief, ein Paket, einen Gruß, Blumen senden and etwas an jemanden senden. A place is a different line, or it stands with the dative. Duden’s die Waren werden [Ihnen] ins Haus geschickt and the WDG’s das Kaufhaus hat uns die Waren ins Haus geschickt print a person-dative and in+accusative together. The WDG’s einen Brief nach Hause schicken prints the place and no dative.
Printed schicken frame · dative or an+accusative · accusative Theme
✓ jmdm., an jmdn. Geld, einen Bericht, Brief, Gruß … schicken DWDS · WDG text · schicken · the entry abbreviates the verb as s.
to send someone money, a report, a letter, a greeting — dative, or an plus the person
Printed senden frame · dative Recipient · accusative Theme · gehoben
✓ jemandem einen Brief, ein Paket, einen Gruß, Blumen senden Duden online · senden · transfer sense
to send someone a letter, a parcel, a greeting, flowers
Printed person-dative beside a place
✓ die Waren werden [Ihnen] ins Haus geschickt Duden online · schicken · the brackets are Duden’s
the goods are sent to you, to the house
| Place | Introduced by (working) | German marking | Case status | English marking |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sender | Spec,Voice | subject of schicken and of senden | structural subject · a werden line of the goods has no overt sender | subject of send |
| Recipient · bare dative | low Appl · revisable | dative (jmdm., jemandem, mir, ihr, Ihnen, uns, dem Kranken, seinem Vater) | printed beside an accusative Theme · Duden’s brackets make [Ihnen] and [uns] optional · the WDG’s (jmdm.) on eine Vorladung is the same option · a second accusative of the person is unprinted · a place in this slot is unprinted | first object of Cambridge’s [+ two objects] (her, you, them, me) · not a place name in the lines opened |
| Person in an+accusative | PP · drawn with the Goal · may be the Recipient · revisable | an + accusative (an jmdn., an jemanden, an ihn, an Sie, an eine Zeitung) | the WDG prints an jmdn. as the alternative to jmdm. in one frame line · Duden’s schicken examples do not fill an jemanden · Duden’s senden prints etwas an jemanden senden · DWDS’s editorial abschicken prints das Geld an ihn · an+dative of the person is unprinted | to + person (to them) or institution (to a few companies) |
| Theme | complement of the root | accusative (einen Brief, einen Gruß, die Waren, ein Lebenszeichen, einen Liebesbrief, ein Kind, mich) | structural accusative · a line can lack the dative · a person in this slot is the one who is sent, and the third slot is then a place | object of send (a letter, a reply, the kids, relief workers) |
| Place Goal · nach / in / zu / an | PP inside the verb’s domain · revisable · not a fourth argument | nach Hause, nach Frankfurt · ins Haus, in die Schule, in alle Teile des Landes · zu jmdm., zur Bahn, zum Himmel · an eine Adresse, an die See, aufs Land | the place is not a bare dative in any line opened · a person-dative may stand with ins Haus · nach dem Arzt schicken is the fetch line, not this Goal of a letter | to or into (to my office, to the region, to boarding school, into the region, to the moon) · send a letter to Paris is unprinted · send Paris a letter is unprinted |
Marking map. One letter can belong to several heads. Read the lemma, then the marker.
Each row lines up one English slot with a German slot. The alignment type says what happens to the slot: = (same object status), or shift (a bare English object ↔ a German dative, or to ↔ an / nach / in / zu). Printed dictionary lines come first. Every other sentence is constructed, modelled on a printed line. They show the working alignment, not frequency, and not a bilingual corpus.
| Slot | EN form | DE form | Align | EN example | DE example |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sender | SUBJ of send | subject | = | She sends me a letter every month English Wiktionary · send | Sie hat mir einen Liebesbrief geschickt English Wiktionary · schicken |
| Recipient · person | first object of [+ two objects] | dative | shift · one German dative · the English gloss is a bare object | I'll send her a letter/email/parcel/postcard next week Cambridge · [+ two objects] | jemandem einen Brief … senden Duden · gehoben · mir einen Liebesbrief English Wiktionary |
| Person · PP | to + person | an+accusative | shift · to ↔ an · the WDG pairs it with the dative | Could you send a reply to them as quickly as possible? Cambridge | an jmdn. beside Brief WDG · etwas an jemanden senden Duden · senden |
| Theme | object of send | accusative | = | Send a letter to my office Cambridge American | einen Brief nach Hause schicken WDG · einen Gruß schicken Duden |
| Place Goal | to / into + place | nach / in / zu / an | shift · the preposition is the German one the line prints | sent relief workers to the region Cambridge American · send a letter to Paris constructed · to Paris is unprinted · modelled on to my office | nach Hause WDG · ins Haus Duden · nach Frankfurt English Wiktionary |
| Dative beside a place | double object plus to + place | dative plus ins Haus | the German stack is printed · the English stack is unprinted | send her a letter to Paris constructed · not a dictionary line | [Ihnen] … ins Haus Duden · schicken and senden · uns die Waren ins Haus WDG |
| Place as the bare third slot | send Paris a letter | dative of a place | unprinted on both sides · Cambridge’s [+ two objects] lines are people | * send Paris a letter constructed · not a dictionary line | * Pat hat der Stadt einen Brief geschickt. constructed · the printed place is a PP |
The strip below is a set of small multiples. Each card holds one frame, with English on top and German under it. The subject chip is the Sender.
EN · DE · dative
I'll send her a letter/email/parcel/postcard next week
Sie hat mir einen Liebesbrief geschickt
EN · Cambridge · [+ two objects] · DE · English Wiktionary · dative · accusative
Move the Recipient is dative · English spells a bare object
EN · DE · an
Could you send a reply to them as quickly as possible?
etwas an jemanden senden
EN · Cambridge · to · DE · Duden · senden · gehoben
Move an+accusative is a PP · the WDG pairs it with the dative
EN · DE · place
Send a letter to my office
einen Brief nach Hause schicken
DE · WDG · place Goal · no dative in the line · EN to + place
Move a place is a PP on both sides · to Paris is unprinted
EN · DE · dative + place
—
die Waren werden [Ihnen] ins Haus geschickt
DE · Duden · person-dative and in+accusative · the English stack is unprinted
Move the dative is allowed with a place · the brackets are Duden’s
EN · DE · place as Recipient
* send Paris a letter
* Pat hat der Stadt einen Brief geschickt.
constructed · starred · a place in the bare third slot is unprinted
Move English to Paris and German nach Hause are the printed kind of place
Argument difference. English send her a letter puts the person in a bare object and the Theme in the other object. English send a letter to my office and send a reply to them put the third slot in to. German schicken puts the Theme in the accusative and the person in the dative, or, on the WDG’s frame line and on Duden’s senden, in an+accusative. A place is nach, in, zu, or an. The dative Recipient is inside the verb’s domain on the working drawing. The PP is the Goal, also inside that domain. The drawing does not decide that an jemanden is a different participant from jemandem.
Senses kept off this frame. Duden’s reflexive sich schicken is not a sending: es schickt sich nicht, sich in Gottes Willen schicken. The fetch line is nach dem Arzt schicken in Duden and nach einem, um einen Arzt, um Auskunft s. in the WDG. s. is the entry’s abbreviation of the verb. No letter is in those lines. Duden’s ein Gebet zum Himmel schicken is marked transferred. The WDG’s /bildl./ jmdm. einen fragenden, vorwurfsvollen Blick s. is marked figurative. The broadcast sense of senden is a different grammar: Duden prints das Hörspiel wurde später gesendet and says the technical sense uses only the forms with e. That wurde is not the passive of a letter.
Dictionary frames and lines · quoted as printed
einen Gruß schicken · die Waren werden [Ihnen] ins Haus geschickt · er hat [uns] endlich ein Lebenszeichen geschickt · ein Gebet zum Himmel schicken · ein Kind in die Schule schicken · wer hat dich denn [zu mir] geschickt? · nach dem Arzt schicken Duden online · schicken · the brackets and in übertragener Bedeutung are Duden’s · grammar schickt, schickte, hat geschickt
jmdm., an jmdn. Geld, einen Bericht, Brief, Gruß … schicken · etw. an eine Adresse schicken · einen Brief nach Hause schicken · umg. etw. geschickt kriegen · sie schickten dem Kranken Früchte und Wein · das Kaufhaus hat uns die Waren ins Haus geschickt · sie hat ihre Gedichte an eine Zeitung geschickt · (jmdm.) eine Vorladung schicken DWDS · WDG text · schickt, schickte, hat geschickt · frame lines abbreviate the verb as s. · umg. is the entry’s label on kriegen
Sie hat mir einen Liebesbrief geschickt. English Wiktionary · schicken · ditransitive · the gloss is She sent me a love letter
Ich schicke ihr einen Liebesbrief. German Wiktionary · schicken · dative · accusative
Mein Chef will mich nach Frankfurt schicken English Wiktionary · schicken · accusative Theme · nach + place · no dative
jemandem einen Brief, ein Paket, einen Gruß, Blumen senden · etwas an jemanden senden · wir senden [Ihnen] die Waren ins Haus · ich sandte, auch sendete ihr einen Brief Duden online · senden · the transfer sense is marked gehoben · Duden prints selten before wenn er könnte, sendete (nicht: sändte) er ein Fax · the broadcast line das Hörspiel wurde später gesendet uses only the forms with e
jmdm. Blumen, Grüße, Geld, einen Brief, eine Karte senden · ein Telegramm an jmdn. senden · er sandte den Wagen zur Bahn · er sendet ihn … zu seinem Freund DWDS · WDG text of senden · sandte/sendete, hat gesandt/hat gesendet
Ich sende Ihnen meine besten Grüße. German Wiktionary · senden · dative · accusative
(jemandem) zustellen lassen, [ins Haus] schicken (1); zusenden · jemandem Unterlagen zuschicken · den neuen Katalog kriegt sie immer umsonst zugeschickt Duden online · zuschicken · separable schickt zu, schickte zu, hat zugeschickt · the subject of kriegt is sie · the Theme stays accusative
ich werde dir das Geld, die Bücher in nächster Zeit zuschicken · wir erhielten die bestellten Artikel per Nachnahme zugeschickt DWDS · zuschicken · the definition names an jmdn. and jmdm. · the filled example is the dative
ich möchte Sie bitten, mir das Buch zuzusenden Duden online · zusenden · separable · sandte/(seltener:) sendete zu, hat zugesandt/(seltener:) zugesendet · the synonym senden is marked gehoben there
ich werde dir das Paket bald zusenden · ich bekam den Vertrag vom Verlag, das Buch mit einer Widmung vom Verfasser zugesandt DWDS · eWDG text of zusenden · bekam · the Theme stays the object of bekam
Einladungen verschicken · Erholungsbedürftige [zur Kur] verschicken · die Kinder wurden an die See, aufs Land verschickt Duden online · verschicken · inseparable verschickt, verschickte, hat verschickt · no dative in these lines
das Mineralwasser wurde in alle Teile des Landes verschickt · Fragebogen, Einladungen, Postsendungen, Waren verschicken DWDS · verschicken · wurde promotes the Theme · the place stays
sie hat ihn weggeschickt · Geld, ein Paket wegschicken · sie hat das Kind mit einem Auftrag weggeschickt DWDS · wegschicken · separable schickt weg, schickte weg, hat weggeschickt · Duden’s definition is fortschicken and Duden prints no clause · a place PP is unprinted in the examples
Waren, Post abschicken · einen Boten abschicken Duden online · abschicken · separable schickt ab, schickte ab, hat abgeschickt
den Brief, das Paket (mit der Post) abschicken · wir haben das Geld an ihn abgeschickt · einen Boten mit Aufträgen abschicken DWDS · abschicken · an+accusative · an editorial bare dative is unprinted
Wann wurde der Brief abgesandt/abgesendet? German Wiktionary · morphology note on senden and the compounds · both participles · the letter is the subject of wurde
✓ Ich schicke Ihnen einen Apparat unverbindlich acht Tage zur Probe. DWDS corpus line · Reklame-Praxis, 1928, as DWDS prints the line · dative Ihnen · accusative einen Apparat · no place
✓ Mit schwerem Herzen schicke ich die Bögen heute an Sie ab. DWDS corpus line · Die Zeit, 07.03.1986 · an+accusative · ab at the right edge
✓ Ich schicke Dir wieder morgen 70 Mark ab und Du sagst, Huk hat auch geschrieben, am 23. DWDS corpus line · letter of 28 March 1943, as DWDS prints the line · bare dative Dir · not the editorial frame, which prints an ihn
I'll send her a letter/email/parcel/postcard next week. · Could you send a reply to them as quickly as possible? · I've sent my CV to a few companies in the region. · They've sent their son (away) to boarding school. Cambridge Advanced · send · [+ two objects] is the entry’s label · the parentheses on away are the entry’s
Send a letter to my office. · The UN sent relief workers to the region. Cambridge American · send
She sends me a letter every month. English Wiktionary · send · the entry labels the verb ditransitive
send a rocket to the moon Merriam-Webster Kids · send · to + place
Strings below are constructed, modelled on the printed lines. They are not spontaneous-speech citations and not dictionary lines. Pat continues the named-participant series on lehren. A name does not spell case. ihr spells dative. einen Brief follows Duden’s senden and the WDG. der Stadt spells a dative place, which no article opened here prints.
✓ Pat hat ihr einen Brief geschickt.
constructed · dative modelled on English Wiktionary’s mir einen Liebesbrief and on German Wiktionary’s ihr einen Liebesbrief
✓ Pat hat einen Brief an sie geschickt.
constructed · an+accusative modelled on the WDG’s an jmdn. beside Brief and on Duden’s etwas an jemanden senden · not a second editorial sentence
✓ Pat hat einen Brief nach Hause geschickt.
constructed · modelled on the WDG’s einen Brief nach Hause schicken · no Recipient is in the line
✓ Pat hat ihr die Waren ins Haus geschickt.
constructed · dative plus place modelled on Duden’s [Ihnen] ins Haus and on the WDG’s uns die Waren ins Haus
* Pat hat der Stadt einen Brief geschickt.
constructed · dative of a place · the printed place beside this Theme is nach, in, zu, or an · English send Paris a letter is the same gap
* Pat hat sie einen Brief geschickt.
constructed · accusative Recipient · the printed person beside this Theme is dative or an+accusative · English her has no case ending
The participle and werden are operations on the same places. They do not add a participant. kriegen and bekommen are quoted only where an entry prints them.
werden of the Theme, and the dative stays. Duden prints die Waren werden [Ihnen] ins Haus geschickt. The goods are the subject. [Ihnen] stays dative. ins Haus stays. Nothing further is constructed. Duden prints die Kinder wurden an die See, aufs Land verschickt, and DWDS prints das Mineralwasser wurde in alle Teile des Landes verschickt. The subject is the Theme. The place stays. No dative is in those two lines. German Wiktionary’s morphology note prints Wann wurde der Brief abgesandt/abgesendet? The letter is the subject. A werden-passive of the transfer sense of senden, as against the broadcast sense, is unprinted. Duden’s das Hörspiel wurde später gesendet and the WDG’s heute abend wird im Rundfunk ein Hörspiel … gesendet are the broadcast sense. Nothing is constructed for the transfer sense.
kriegen and bekommen. The WDG prints umg. etw. geschickt kriegen. The abbreviation umg. is the entry’s. The thing is etw. Duden prints den neuen Katalog kriegt sie immer umsonst zugeschickt. sie is the subject. den neuen Katalog stays accusative. DWDS prints ich bekam den Vertrag vom Verlag … zugesandt on zusenden, and wir erhielten die bestellten Artikel … zugeschickt on zuschicken. A bekommen line of bare schicken, as against kriegen, is unprinted. Nothing is constructed.
Particles. schicken is weak: schickt, schickte, hat geschickt. zu-, weg-, and ab- are written apart in the paradigms: schickt zu, hat zugeschickt, schickt weg, schickt ab, and Duden’s zuzusenden. ver- on verschicken stays in verschickt, verschickte, hat verschickt. senden prints two sets of past forms. Duden says the forms with a are more frequent in the meaning schicken, and the technical sense uses only the forms with e. The vowel is the morphology the entries print. It is not a second event.
Each sketch is a working drawing, not a locked analysis. The drawing gives the Sender to Voice, the dative Recipient to low Appl, the PP Goal to a phrase inside the verb’s domain, and the Theme to the root. The dative is the added argument, analogous to the dative Learner on beibringen and to the dative buyer on verkaufen, which also prints an+accusative. Open one sketch at a time. Whether an jemanden is that low Appl or the Goal PP is not settled here. Which theta role is the object is the revisable note Causative templates and argument selection. This page does not edit that note.
Constructed · the finite verb in C · one external argument
[CP Pat_1
[C' hat
[TP t_1
[VoiceP t_1 Voice ← Sender = Spec,Voice
… schicken … ]
T ]]]
✓ Pat hat ihr einen Brief geschickt. constructed
The external argument is the Sender. English keeps that one subject on send. A werden line of the goods has no overt Sender. Duden’s die Waren werden [Ihnen] ins Haus geschickt is that line.
Dative Recipient · accusative Theme · working, revisable
[VoiceP Pat Voice
[ApplP_LOW [ihr]_DAT Appl ← Recipient · dative
[VP √schick-
[Theme einen Brief ]_ACC ]]] ← Theme · accusative
A place PP is not this Appl. It sits in the verb’s domain, with the Theme. The dative can be present, as Duden’s brackets and the WDG’s uns … ins Haus print, or absent, as einen Brief nach Hause schicken prints.
[VoiceP Pat Voice
[VP √schick-
[Theme einen Brief ]_ACC
[PP nach [ Hause ]]]] ← Goal · PP · not a dative
✓ Sie hat mir einen Liebesbrief geschickt English Wiktionary · dative Recipient
✓ einen Brief nach Hause schicken WDG · PP Goal · no dative
✓ das Kaufhaus hat uns die Waren ins Haus geschickt WDG · dative and place in one line
* Pat hat der Stadt einen Brief geschickt. constructed · a place is not the dative the articles print
Working · no English send page is opened
[VoiceP Pat Voice ← Sender
[ApplP_LOW her Appl ← Recipient · bare object
[VP √SEND
[Theme a letter ]]]] ← I'll send her a letter/email/parcel/postcard next week
· Cambridge [+ two objects]
[VoiceP Pat Voice
[VP √SEND
[Theme a letter ]
[PP to [ my office ]]]] ← Send a letter to my office
· to Paris is unprinted
· send Paris a letter is unprinted
Cambridge’s [+ two objects] lines put a person in the first object. The to lines put a person or a place in the PP. A place in the first object is unprinted. German mir in Sie hat mir einen Liebesbrief geschickt is the Recipient, and the English gloss of that line is the double object She sent me a love letter. German nach Hause is the place PP, and the English place in the articles opened is to.
| Layer | send (EN) · no page | schicken / senden |
|---|---|---|
| Spec,Voice | Sender | Sender |
| Recipient | bare first object, where the entry prints [+ two objects] | dative · optional in Duden’s brackets · also the WDG’s (jmdm.) |
| Person as PP | to + person | an+accusative · Duden’s senden prints it · the WDG pairs it with the dative |
| Theme | object | accusative |
| Place | to or into · not the first object | nach, in, zu, or an · not a bare dative · a person-dative may stand with ins Haus |
| passive of a sending clause | unasserted here | werden promotes the Theme · the dative stays where the line prints it · kriegen / bekommen make the Recipient the subject where those verbs are printed |
On beibringen the added argument is a dative Learner and the accusative is the Content. On verkaufen the buyer is a dative or an+accusative and the goods are accusative. On schicken the dative is the Recipient and the accusative is the Theme, and a place PP is a further marking the sell page does not use for the buyer. The analogy is the added dative. It is not a claim that a Learner, a buyer, and a Recipient are one role.
Working paper · October 2026 · German micro-entry · Beyond Index 2
Sending in German is not one marking of the third slot. Sender (Voice, subject), Theme (complement of the root, accusative), and either a Recipient (low Appl, bare dative, working and revisable) or a Goal (a PP inside the verb’s domain: an, nach, in, or zu). A person-dative can stand beside a place. English send her a letter is a double object. A place takes to. send Paris a letter is unprinted.
Not a flat grid of three sisters, and not one case frame copied from the English gloss. Voice adds the Sender. Low Appl adds the dative Recipient. A PP adds the Goal, inside the verb’s domain. The root takes the Theme. The drawing is working and revisable.
What German changes, against English send her a letter and send a letter to a place, is that the person has two printed cloths, dative and an+accusative, and that the dative is printed beside a place. English prints the person as a bare object or in to, and prints a place in to or into. A place as that bare object is unprinted on both sides.
Dictionary frames: Duden online schicken, senden, zuschicken, zusenden, verschicken, wegschicken, and abschicken; DWDS, the WDG text and the modern articles of those verbs, and three corpus lines; German Wiktionary schicken and senden; English Wiktionary schicken and send; Cambridge Advanced and Cambridge American send; Merriam-Webster Kids send. Constructed clauses put a printed case on a named sender. The dative of a place is the working limit of the printed PP. Index 2 does not list these lemmas. German Transfer in Index 2 is tauschen; geben.
Records the dative Recipient and the accusative Theme of schicken and of senden, the an+accusative alternative, and the place PPs nach, in, zu, and an. Records a person-dative beside ins Haus. Records werden of the Theme and, where printed, kriegen and bekommen. Does not open an English page.