send · Russian (послать / отправить)

Arguments

Sender, Theme, Recipient or Goal · Russian cloth · working claim, revisable

Voice[Sender] + low Appl(Recipient) or a PP Goal inside the verb’s domain + complement of the root (Theme)

послать · aspect cell совершенный вид · partner named посылать · Theme accusative что / кого-что · Recipient bare dative кому · place в+accusative or на+accusative · person-as-destination к+dative · fetch за+instrumental · infinitive

отправить · aspect cell совершенный вид · partner named отправлять · the same cloths where the articles print them · Theme accusative · place в+accusative or на+accusative · infinitive on the imperfective article

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 postcard, the sum, 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 person who receives the thing. A PP is drawn as a Goal inside the verb’s domain. A place takes в or на plus accusative. A person standing as the destination of the one who is sent takes к plus dative. That split is a working drawing. It is not a settled analysis. The dictionaries print the bare dative, в/на plus accusative, and к plus dative as different lines. They do not print them as three spellings of one recipient.

What the dictionaries print for the letter. Kuznetsov’s government of послать sense 2 is что кому (с кем), “отправить для передачи, доставки.” The lines are Послать письмо по почте and Послать телеграмму брату. телеграмму is accusative. брату is a bare dative, with no preposition. Babenko’s imperfective article prints a full clause of the same pairing: Мама каждый месяц посылала дочери-студентке небольшую сумму денег. Мама is the nominative Sender. дочери-студентке is dative. сумму is accusative. MAS prints какую послать телеграмму родителям. Rosenthal’s government is что-л. кому (устар. к кому), and the modern citation is the same telegram to the parents. Morkovkin’s delivery sense lists Послать кому-л. или куда-л. письмо and Послать что-л. родителям (сыну), and the filled clauses are Я послал Лизе подарок and Мы послали ему множество писем. Лизе and ему are bare datives. писем in that clause is the genitive after множество.

What the dictionaries print for a place, and for a person as the destination. Kuznetsov’s отправить prints Отправить в Москву открытку. в Москву is в plus accusative. The postcard is accusative. The same article prints Отправить детей в школу and Отправить гостей на станцию. Morkovkin’s place list for the thing is в институт, в газету, в Москву, на факультет, на Урал. The place list for the person who is sent is в магазин, в Москву, на рынок, к врачу, к директору. к врачу sits in that куда series, beside the places. It is not in the кому series of the letter. Babenko prints the full clause Казаки слали гонца к атаману Каледину. гонца is the accusative of the person who is sent. к атаману is к plus dative. The verb of that clause is слали, inside the посылать article. Ushakov prints Krylov Послал Юпитер к ним на царство журавля. журавля is the one sent. к ним is к plus dative. It is not a bare dative им.

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. A place in to is send them to the phone recycling company. We're sending the kids to stay with my parents is labeled [+ to infinitive]. send for a doctor is the phrasal entry send for. English send X to Y uses one to for the person who receives the thing and for the place, and the double object is a second spelling of the person. Russian does not give those slots one marker. The person who receives the thing is a bare dative: брату, дочери-студентке, родителям, Лизе, ему. A place is в or на plus accusative: в Москву, на станцию, на рынок. A person as the destination of someone who is sent is к plus dative: к врачу, к атаману, к ним. That person is where the one who is sent is going. The person is not the bare-dative recipient of the Theme. English send for is Russian за plus instrumental: за доктором, за врачом, за хлебом. The English to-infinitive is a bare infinitive on these Russian verbs: погулять, учиться, сопровождать.

What is different from Polish wysłać and from German schicken. On wysłać the Recipient is a bare dative, and a person-as-destination is do plus genitive (do dziadka), not a dative. Russian matches the bare dative. Russian does not match do plus genitive. The person-as-destination is к plus dative. The Polish fetch is po plus accusative. The Russian fetch is за plus instrumental. The Polish errand that the articles print is a żeby-clause, and a bare infinitive is unprinted there. The Russian infinitive is printed. On schicken the Recipient is a bare dative or an plus accusative, as alternative cloths of one person. Russian prints the bare dative. It does not print an accusative preposition in that slot. Rosenthal’s к кому is marked устар., and it is the older cloth of the letter’s recipient, not German an.

Places · who wears which marking

The lines do not stack every marking in one clause. Мама посылала дочери-студентке сумму prints the dative and the Theme, and prints no в. Отправить в Москву открытку prints в plus accusative and the Theme, and prints no dative. Казаки слали гонца к атаману prints к plus dative on the person who is the destination, and the accusative is the messenger, not a letter. Morkovkin’s delivery schema writes кому-л. или куда-л.. The или is the dictionary’s alternative. No citation opened here stacks брату and в Москву in one letter clause.

Printed посылать · nominative Sender · bare dative · accusative Theme

✓ Мама каждый месяц посылала дочери-студентке небольшую сумму денег Babenko · посылать · nominative Мама · dative дочери-студентке · accusative сумму

Mother sent her student daughter a small sum of money every month · the person is a bare dative · the sum is the Theme · no к and no в in that clause

Printed Goal · в + accusative · accusative Theme

✓ Отправить в Москву открытку Kuznetsov · отправить · в + accusative · accusative открытку

to send a postcard to Moscow · direction · no dative in the line

Printed person who is sent · к + dative

✓ Казаки слали гонца к атаману Каледину Babenko · посылать article · the clause’s verb is слали · accusative гонца · к + dative

the Cossacks kept sending a messenger to Ataman Kaledin · the ataman is the destination · not a bare-dative recipient of a letter

Places of Russian send: introducer, marking, status, English, Polish, and German marking
Place	Introduced by (working)	Russian marking	Status in the sources	English, Polish, German
Sender	Spec,Voice	nominative subject	Мама посылала · Я послал · Мы послали · Казаки слали · Старики отправляли · Соснов отправил · a short passive of the Theme is printed: Телеграмма послана из Новгорода	subject of send · subject of wysłać · subject of schicken
Recipient · bare dative	low Appl · the person who receives the thing · revisable	bare dative · кому · брату · дочери-студентке · родителям · Лизе · ему · знакомым и родным	Kuznetsov телеграмму брату · Babenko the mother clause · MAS and Rosenthal телеграмму родителям · Morkovkin Лизе подарок and ему · Babenko отправляли знакомым и родным · no preposition on that dative · a city in this slot is unprinted	first object of Cambridge’s [+ two objects] (her) · Polish bare dative mu · German bare dative, which on schicken alternates with an+accusative
Goal · в + accusative	PP inside the verb’s domain · a place · revisable · not a second spelling of the dative	в + accusative · в Москву · в школу · в город · в Германию · в булочную · в тот край · в части	Kuznetsov в Москву открытку and детей в школу · Babenko сыновей в город and Грановского в Германию · Morkovkin в Москву on both the person and the thing · в части is accusative plural after в, the prepositional plural would be в частях	English to + place · Polish do+genitive · German nach, in, or zu
Goal · на + accusative	PP inside the verb’s domain · a place · revisable	на + accusative · на станцию · на рынок · на факультет · на стажировку · на фронт · на съезд · на разведку · на аэродром	Kuznetsov гостей на станцию, на фронт, на съезд · Morkovkin на рынок, на факультет, на Урал · Babenko на стажировку, на разведку, на аэродром · на почту is unprinted on the pages opened	English to · Polish na+accusative · German in+accusative and an+accusative of a place
Person as destination · к + dative	PP inside the verb’s domain · the person is the place the one who is sent is going · revisable · not the bare-dative Recipient	к + dative · к врачу · к директору · к атаману Каледину · к ним	Morkovkin files к врачу and к директору in the куда list of sending a person, beside в Москву and на рынок, and does not file them under кому of the letter · Babenko гонца к атаману · Ushakov, Krylov, к ним · к чёрту and к праотцам are other senses	English to + person, the same to as the place and as the recipient · Polish person-as-destination is do+genitive, not k+dative · German place of a person is zu
Archaic к + dative of the thing	the older cloth of the letter’s recipient · marked устар. · not к врачу	к + dative · к вам · government устар. к кому	Rosenthal, on the delivery sense: что-л. кому (устар. к кому) · Goncharov посылать к вам писем · the modern citation in the same article is bare dative родителям · Russian Wiktionary sense 3 prints кому and устар. к кому, and prints no example	English to does not mark this as archaic against the double object · Polish does not print an archaic preposition on the letter’s recipient
Theme	complement of the root	accusative · что or кого · телеграмму · письмо · открытку · сумму · сына · гонца · политрука	positive clauses · an animate accusative has the genitive shape (сына, гонца) and the government still says кого · under the negated possibility Rosenthal prints genitive писем · множество писем is a quantifier genitive, not that line	object of send · accusative of wysłać, genitive under nie · accusative of schicken
Fetch · за + instrumental	the one to fetch, or the thing to fetch · revisable · not the Recipient	за + instrumental · за доктором · за врачом · за хлебом · за носильщиком · за билетами · за каретою	Ozhegov and Kuznetsov за доктором · MAS, Ostrovsky, я за доктором пошлю · Morkovkin за врачом in the purpose list, and the citation Мать послала сына за хлебом · Kuznetsov в булочную за хлебом stacks the place and the fetch · Ushakov, Gogol, за каретою	English send for · Cambridge send for a doctor · Polish po+accusative · German nach dem Arzt schicken is nach+dative
Infinitive	the errand · bare infinitive · revisable · not a fourth argument	bare infinitive · погулять · учиться · узнать · гулять · начальствовать · сопровождать · schema затем, чтобы with no filled clause	Kuznetsov and Ozhegov Ребёнка послали погулять and Послать учиться · Morkovkin Пошлите кого-нибудь узнать · Ushakov детей гулять and Pushkin начальствовать · Babenko политрука сопровождать · купить хлеб is unprinted · the printed bread line is за хлебом	Cambridge [+ to infinitive] · French bare infinitive on envoyer · Italian a + infinitive on mandare · Polish żeby-clause, infinitive unprinted
Means · carrier	not a fourth argument	по почте · instrumental почтой · с + instrumental с кем-либо	Kuznetsov письмо по почте and Отправить почтой · Ozhegov деньги почтой · the government writes (с кем) · Morkovkin stacks the dative and the carrier: Лизе подарок с одним моим знакомым	English by post · not the first object

Marking map. One letter can belong to several heads. Read the lemma, then the marker.

Bare dative, the person who receives the thing. Kuznetsov Послать телеграмму брату. Babenko посылала дочери-студентке небольшую сумму денег. MAS and Rosenthal телеграмму родителям. Morkovkin Я послал Лизе подарок and Мы послали ему множество писем. Babenko Приглашения на торжество отправляли знакомым и родным по почте. There is no preposition on брату, on дочери-студентке, on родителям, on Лизе, on ему, or on знакомым. A string письмо брату is not one printed line. It is built below from телеграмму брату and from письмо.
в plus accusative, a place. в Москву is Kuznetsov’s postcard and Morkovkin’s куда example, for the thing and for the person. в школу, в город, в Германию, в булочную, and в тот край are the other printed places. A dative Москве beside a postcard is unprinted.
на plus accusative, a place. на станцию, на рынок, на факультет, на стажировку, на фронт, на съезд, на разведку, на аэродром. на почту is unprinted. Nothing is filed as if a dictionary had printed it.
к plus dative, a person as the destination. Morkovkin’s к врачу and к директору are examples inside куда-л. of sending a person. Babenko’s ataman and Ushakov’s к ним fill that preposition in a clause. The accusative in those clauses is the person or the creature who is sent. к чёрту is Kuznetsov’s swearing sense. отправить к праотцам is Kuznetsov’s “kill.” Both stay off the letter.
к plus dative, archaic, of the thing. Rosenthal marks к кому устар. on the delivery sense, and prints Goncharov посылать к вам писем beside the modern телеграмму родителям. That к вам is the older recipient of the letters. It is not Morkovkin’s к врачу. Russian Wiktionary repeats кому and устар. к кому and leaves the example cell empty.
за plus instrumental, send for. за доктором is Ozhegov, Kuznetsov, and Ostrovsky in MAS. за врачом is Morkovkin’s purpose list. Мать послала сына за хлебом is the citation, and в булочную за хлебом stacks the shop and the loaf. Gogol’s за каретою is the same preposition on a thing. English for matches the person-fetch. The thing-errand is the same Russian preposition.
The infinitive, and the bread line that is not an infinitive. Ребёнка послали погулять, Послать учиться, кого-нибудь узнать, детей гулять, Шуйского послал начальствовать, and политрука сопровождать are bare infinitives. Morkovkin also writes the schema затем, чтобы and does not fill the clause. послать сына купить хлеб is not a dictionary line. The printed line with the son and the bread is Мать послала сына за хлебом.
Genitive where a source prints it. Rosenthal’s Goncharov line is Не предвидя возможности посылать к вам писем. писем is genitive plural. The accusative plural would be письма. The negation is Не предвидя. Мы послали ему множество писем also prints писем, and the genitive there is the complement of множество. A finite не послал письма is unprinted. It is constructed below on писем and on accusative письмо.
Senses kept off the letter. A ball, a bullet, a kiss, a greeting, the swearing к чёрту, Бог послал, dispatching a train, and отправить службу. домой in Солдат послал открытку домой is a direction adverb. It is not a case phrase, and it is not filed as в or на.

EN ⇄ RU valency strip

Each row lines up one English slot with a Russian slot. The alignment type says what happens to the slot: = (same object status), or shift (a bare English object ↔ a Russian dative, or to / for ↔ в, на, к, or за). Printed dictionary lines come first. Every other Russian sentence is constructed, modelled on a printed line. Polish wysłać is the live sibling for a bare dative beside a separate person-as-destination. German schicken is the live sibling for a dative that also has an an-phrase.

English–Russian valency alignment for send, one row per argument
Slot	EN form	RU form	Align	EN example	RU example
Sender	SUBJ of send	nominative subject	=	I'll send her a letter/email/parcel/postcard next week Cambridge · [+ two objects]	Мама посылала дочери-студентке сумму Babenko · the subject is the Sender
Recipient · person	first object of [+ two objects]	bare dative · кому	shift · Russian spells a dative ending · English spells a bare object · German also spells a dative, and adds an+accusative	I'll send her a letter Cambridge	телеграмму брату · дочери-студентке сумму Kuznetsov · Babenko
Theme	object of send	accusative · genitive писем in the Rosenthal line	= in the positive · shift in the printed genitive line · English keeps the object	I'll send her a letter Cambridge	телеграмму · письмо · открытку Kuznetsov · писем Rosenthal · Goncharov
Goal · в	to + place	в + accusative	shift · English to also covers a person · Russian в is not the dative Recipient	send them to the phone recycling company Cambridge Business · send sth to sth	в Москву открытку · в Германию Kuznetsov · Babenko
Goal · на	to + place	на + accusative	shift · на почту is unprinted	send them to the phone recycling company Cambridge	на станцию · на рынок · на стажировку Kuznetsov · Morkovkin · Babenko
Person as destination · к	to + person	к + dative	shift · English to does not separate this person from the dative recipient · Polish spells do+genitive	We're sending the kids to stay with my parents Cambridge · [+ to infinitive]	к врачу · к атаману · к ним Morkovkin · Babenko · Ushakov
Fetch	send for + the person	за + instrumental	shift · English spells for · Russian spells за · Polish spells po+accusative	Do you think we should send for a doctor? Cambridge · send for	за доктором · за врачом · за хлебом Ozhegov · Kuznetsov · Morkovkin
Errand	to-infinitive	bare infinitive	shift · English spells to · the printed Russian infinitive is bare · купить хлеб is unprinted	We're sending the kids to stay with my parents Cambridge	погулять · сопровождать Kuznetsov · Babenko
Place as the dative	send Paris a letter	dative of a city	unprinted on both sides	* send Paris a letter constructed · not a dictionary line	* Москве открытку constructed · a city is в Москву

The strip below is a set of small multiples. Each card holds one frame, with English on top and Russian under it. A card that quotes a dictionary line has no added name.

EN · RU · dative

брату + accusative

I'll send her a letter/email/parcel/postcard next week

Послать телеграмму брату

EN · Cambridge · [+ two objects] · RU · Kuznetsov · bare dative · accusative Theme

RolesHide roles RecipientTheme

Recipient her · брату Theme a letter · телеграмму

Move брату is dative · English spells a bare object · the full clause of the same pairing is посылала дочери-студентке сумму

EN · RU · в

в + accusative

send them to the phone recycling company

Отправить в Москву открытку

RU · Kuznetsov · в+accusative · no dative in the line

RolesHide roles ThemeGoal

Theme them · открытку Goal the company · в Москву

Move в Москву is direction · брату is the person who receives the thing · they are not one government line

EN · RU · на

на + accusative

send them to the phone recycling company

Отправить гостей на станцию

RU · Kuznetsov · person accusative · на+accusative

RolesHide roles ThemeGoal

Theme the guests · гостей Goal на станцию

Move на+accusative is a place · на почту is unprinted · the printed places include на рынок and на стажировку

EN · RU · к

к + dative

We're sending the kids to stay with my parents

Казаки слали гонца к атаману Каледину

RU · Babenko · accusative messenger · к+dative · Morkovkin files к врачу in the same куда series

RolesHide roles ThemeGoal

Theme the kids · гонца Goal my parents · к атаману

Move the ataman is a destination · English to also covers the dative recipient · Russian к врачу is this destination, not врачу as the recipient of a letter

EN · RU · за

за + instrumental

Do you think we should send for a doctor?

Послать за доктором

EN · Cambridge · send for · RU · Ozhegov and Kuznetsov · за+instrumental · Morkovkin also prints за врачом

RolesHide roles Fetch

Fetch a doctor · за доктором

Move English for · Russian за+instrumental · Polish po+accusative · German nach+dative

EN · RU · infinitive

bare infinitive

We're sending the kids to stay with my parents

Ребёнка послали погулять

RU · Kuznetsov and Ozhegov · bare infinitive · Babenko политрука сопровождать

RolesHide roles ThemeErrand

Theme the child · ребёнка Errand погулять

Move English spells a to-infinitive · the Russian line spells a bare infinitive · купить хлеб is not the printed bread line

EN · RU · dative ≠ city

a city is в

* send Paris a letter

* Пат послал Москве открытку

constructed · dative of a city · the printed city is в Москву · the dictionaries do not star the line

RolesHide roles GoalTheme

Goal Paris · Москве Theme a letter · открытку

Move the dative is a person · a city takes в+accusative

Examples

Argument difference. English send her a letter puts the person in a bare object. English send them to a place and English send someone to a person put the third slot in one to. English send for a doctor puts the fetch in for. English sending the kids to stay puts the errand in a to-infinitive. Russian послать and отправить put the Theme in the accusative. The person who receives the thing is a bare dative. A place is в or на plus accusative. A person as the destination of the one who is sent is к plus dative. The fetch is за plus instrumental. The errand is a bare infinitive. Rosenthal’s к кому of a letter is marked archaic, and the Theme in that citation is genitive писем. German schicken puts the same person in a bare dative or in an plus accusative. Polish puts the person-as-destination in do plus genitive and the fetch in po plus accusative. The dative 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 брату and к врачу are one participant.

Senses kept off this frame. A ball, a bullet, a kiss, a greeting, к чёрту, and dispatching a train are not a letter.

Dictionary frames and lines · quoted as printed

(кого-что, с инф.) · Послать учиться · Послать кого-либо в булочную за хлебом · Послать за доктором · Ребёнка послали погулять · Послать кого-либо на фронт Kuznetsov · послать sense 1 · gramota.ru

что кому (с кем) · Послать письмо по почте · Послать телеграмму брату · Послать книгу с кем-либо Kuznetsov · послать sense 2

Мама каждый месяц посылала дочери-студентке небольшую сумму денег · Солдат послал открытку домой · Казаки слали гонца к атаману Каледину · Преподавателей посылают на стажировку · Московский университет послал Грановского в Германию Babenko · посылать · the ataman clause uses слали

Отправить в Москву открытку · Отправить детей в школу · Отправить гостей на станцию · Отправить почтой · несов. отправлять Kuznetsov · отправить · Ozhegov names the same imperfective

Приглашения на торжество отправляли знакомым и родным по почте · Старики отправляли сыновей в город · Соснов отправил политрука сопровождать взвод на аэродром Babenko · отправлять

к врачу · к директору · за врачом · на рынок · в Москву · Мать послала сына за хлебом · Я послал Лизе подарок · Мы послали ему множество писем · Телеграмма послана из Новгорода Morkovkin · куда list versus кому list · писем after множество

что-л. кому (устар. к кому) · телеграмму родителям · посылать к вам писем Rosenthal · послать / посылать · Novikov-Priboy · Goncharov

П. за доктором · Ребёнка послали погулять · П. письмо по почте · несов. посылать Ozhegov

я за доктором пошлю · Послать письмо · телеграмму родителям MAS · Evgenyeva · Ostrovsky · Novikov-Priboy

Шуйского послал начальствовать · послал уже за каретою · Послал Юпитер к ним на царство журавля · П. детей гулять Ushakov · Pushkin · Gogol · Krylov

I'll send her a letter/email/parcel/postcard next week. · send them to the phone recycling company. · We're sending the kids to stay with my parents. Cambridge · send

Do you think we should send for a doctor? Cambridge · send for

Strings below are constructed, modelled on the printed lines. They are not dictionary lines. Пат continues the named-participant series. A name does not spell function. письмо follows the accusative collocation. брату follows dative брату in телеграмму брату. письма under не follows genitive писем.

✓ Пат послал брату письмо.

RolesHide roles SenderRecipientTheme

Sender Пат Recipient брату Theme письмо

constructed · bare dative modelled on телеграмму брату and on дочери-студентке · accusative письмо is the collocation · the printed telegram line does not contain письмо

✓ Пат отправил открытку в Москву. Пат послал гостей на станцию.

RolesHide roles SenderThemeGoal

Sender Пат Theme открытку · гостей Goal в Москву · на станцию

constructed · в Москву открытку and гостей на станцию are the printed lines, here with a named sender · not the dative брату

✓ Пат послал сына к врачу.

RolesHide roles SenderThemeGoal

Sender Пат Theme сына Goal к врачу

constructed · к врачу is Morkovkin’s куда example · сына follows Мать послала сына and гонца · the doctor is the destination, not a bare dative recipient of a letter · the archaic letter-recipient is к вам

✓ Пат послал за врачом.

RolesHide roles SenderFetch

Sender Пат Fetch за врачом

constructed · за врачом is Morkovkin’s purpose example · за доктором is the Ozhegov and Kuznetsov line, and Ostrovsky fills it with я пошлю · not к врачу

✓ Пат послал сына купить хлеб.

RolesHide roles SenderThemeErrand

Sender Пат Theme сына Errand купить хлеб

constructed · the infinitive slot is printed (погулять, сопровождать, узнать) · сына is printed in Мать послала сына за хлебом · купить хлеб is not a dictionary line · the printed bread errand is за хлебом

✓ Пат не послал письма.

RolesHide roles SenderTheme

Sender Пат Theme письма

constructed · genitive modelled on printed писем under Не предвидя возможности · the positive Theme is accusative письмо · множество писем is a different genitive

* Пат послал Москве открытку.

RolesHide roles GoalTheme

Goal Москве Theme открытку

constructed · dative of a city · the printed city is в Москву · the printed dative is a person

✓ телеграмму брату Kuznetsov · dative Recipient · accusative Theme
✓ посылала дочери-студентке сумму Babenko · nominative Sender · dative · accusative
✓ в Москву открытку Kuznetsov · в+accusative · no dative
✓ гостей на станцию Kuznetsov · на+accusative
✓ к врачу · к атаману Morkovkin · Babenko · person-as-destination · not the letter’s кому
✓ за доктором · за врачом · за хлебом Ozhegov · Kuznetsov · Morkovkin · за+instrumental
✓ Ребёнка послали погулять Kuznetsov · Ozhegov · bare infinitive
✓ к вам писем Rosenthal · archaic к кому · genitive писем
✓ Телеграмма послана из Новгорода Morkovkin · the Theme is the subject of the short passive

What the case and the aspect cell show

The case is an operation on the same places. It does not add a participant. брату, дочери-студентке, родителям, Лизе, and ему are dative. They are the person who receives the thing. They are not a bare accusative first object, and they are not a city. к атаману and к врачу are a prepositional dative. They are the destination of the person who is sent. писем in the Goncharov line Rosenthal prints is genitive. Accusative письмо and телеграмму are the positive Theme.

A short passive of the Theme is printed. Телеграмма послана из Новгорода makes the telegram the subject and keeps из Новгорода. A passive that keeps the bare dative is unprinted on the pages opened. Nothing is constructed for it. Kuznetsov prints Посылаться, -ается; страд. and does not fill a clause.

The aspect cell is morphology. Gramota labels послать and отправить perfective, and посылать and отправлять imperfective. Ozhegov names несов. посылать and несов. отправлять. Wiktionary names посылать or слать as the imperfective of послать, and отправлять as the imperfective of отправить. Babenko lists послать beside посылать and отправить beside отправлять. The pair is the pair the entries name. The cell records that label. It does not record a telicity ranking.

по почте, почтой, and с кем do not add a co-argument. по почте and почтой are the means. с одним моим знакомым is the carrier, and it stands beside dative Лизе in one citation. The Recipient remains the dative.

Derivations · working sketches, revisable

Each sketch is a working drawing, not a locked analysis. The drawing gives the Sender to Voice, the bare-dative Recipient to low Appl, the в, на, and к Goals to phrases inside the verb’s domain, and the Theme to the root. The dictionaries print the case and the prepositions. They do not print that head. Open one sketch at a time. Which theta role is the object is the revisable note Causative templates and argument selection.

Voice · the Sender is the external argument

Constructed · the finite verb in C · one external argument

[CP Пат_1
  [C' послал
    [TP t_1
      [VoiceP t_1 Voice                     ← Sender = Spec,Voice
        … послать … ]
      T ]]]

✓ Пат послал брату письмо. constructed

The external argument is the Sender. English keeps that one subject on send. The printed subject is Мама, Я, Мы. A short passive of the Theme is the printed Телеграмма послана. A passive that keeps the dative is unprinted. Nothing is constructed.

Low Appl · the Recipient · the root takes the Theme

Recipient bare dative · в, на, and к are PPs · accusative Theme · working, revisable

[VoiceP Мама Voice
  [ApplP_LOW [дочери]_DAT Appl               ← Recipient · bare dative
    [VP √посыла-
       [Theme сумму ]]]]                     ← Theme · accusative

[VoiceP Пат Voice
  [VP √отправ-
     [Theme открытку ]
     [PP в [ Москву ]]]]                     ← Goal · в+ACC · not the dative

[VoiceP Пат Voice
  [VP √посла-
     [Theme сына ]
     [PP к [ врачу ]]]]                      ← person as destination · к+DAT

[VoiceP Пат Voice
  [VP √посла-
     [PP за [ врачом ]]]]                    ← fetch · за+INSTR · not for

The infinitive sits in the verb’s domain. на plus accusative is a second Goal phrase. к вам of a letter is the archaic recipient cloth Rosenthal marks, and it is not this к врачу.

[VoiceP Пат Voice
  [VP √посла-
     [Theme сына ]
     [Inf купить ]]]                         ← bare infinitive · constructed verb
                                              · the printed infinitives are погулять,
                                                сопровождать

[VoiceP Пат Voice
  [VP √посла-
     [Theme гостей ]
     [PP на [ станцию ]]]]                   ← на+ACC · printed

✓ посылала дочери-студентке сумму Babenko · dative Recipient

✓ в Москву Kuznetsov · PP Goal

✓ к атаману Babenko · к+dative

✓ за доктором Ozhegov · Kuznetsov · за+instrumental

* Пат послал Москве открытку. constructed · a city is not the dative the articles print

English counterpart · double object, to, for, and a to-infinitive · Polish do+genitive · German dative or an+accusative

Working · no English send page is opened · German is schicken · Polish is wysłać · French is envoyer · Spanish is enviar · Italian is mandare · Portuguese is enviar · Japanese is 送る

[VoiceP Pat Voice                              ← Sender
  [ApplP_LOW her Appl                           ← Recipient · bare object
    [VP √SEND
       [Theme a letter ]]]]                    ← I'll send her a letter
                                                · Cambridge [+ two objects]
                                                · Russian bare dative
                                                · not a bare accusative noun

[VoiceP Pat Voice
  [VP √SEND
     [Theme them ]
     [PP to [ the company ]]]]                 ← send them to the company
                                                · Russian в+ACC or на+ACC
                                                · not the dative

[VoiceP Pat Voice
  [VP √SEND
     [Theme the son ]
     [PP to [ the doctor ]]]]                  ← send the son to the doctor
                                                · Russian к+DAT
                                                · Polish do+GEN
                                                · not the bare dative

[VoiceP Pat Voice
  [VP √SEND
     [PP for [ a doctor ]]]]                   ← send for a doctor
                                                · Russian за+INSTR
                                                · Polish po+ACC

Cambridge’s [+ two objects] line puts a person in the first object. The to line puts a place in the PP, and the same to is what English uses for a person who is the destination. A place in the first object is unprinted. Russian брату is the Recipient as a dative. Russian в Москву and на станцию are direction. Russian к врачу is the person as destination. Russian за доктором is the fetch. German jmdm. and an jmdn. are alternative cloths of one person. Russian does not print that alternation. A Russian full noun in the recipient slot has a dative ending. It is not the German an-phrase, and it is not English to.

Layer-by-layer parallel: English send, Russian послать, Polish wysłać, and German schicken
Layer	send (EN) · no page	послать / отправить	wysłać · schicken · live
Spec,Voice	Sender	Sender · nominative	Sender
Recipient	bare first object, where the entry prints [+ two objects]	bare dative · кому · брату · дочери · not an accusative preposition	Polish bare dative · German bare dative or an+accusative
Theme	object	accusative · genitive писем in the Rosenthal line · письма under не is constructed	Polish accusative, genitive under nie · German accusative
Place	to	в+accusative · на+accusative · на почту unprinted	Polish do+genitive or na+accusative · German nach, in, zu
Person as destination	to · the same preposition as the place and as a recipient	к+dative · к врачу · к атаману · separate from the bare dative	Polish do+genitive · German zu
Fetch	for	за+instrumental · за доктором · за врачом	Polish po+accusative · German nach+dative
Errand	to-infinitive	bare infinitive · погулять · сопровождать	Polish żeby-clause · French bare infinitive · Italian a + infinitive

On послать the dative is the Recipient and к plus dative is a further marking of a person as destination. The analogy with the added dative on wysłać and on schicken is the bare case. It is not a claim that Polish do is Russian к, and it is not a claim that German’s an-phrase is Russian к.

посылать and отправлять are this page, not further pages. Languages of send: German · schicken / senden · French · envoyer · Spanish · enviar · Italian · mandare · Portuguese · enviar · Polish · wysłać / posłać · Japanese · 送る · Russian · послать / отправить · Hungarian · küld · Dutch · sturen / zenden · Norwegian · sende · Mandarin · 寄 / 送 · Bulgarian · изпращам / пращам. Closest siblings for the bare dative: sell · Russian · продать and lend · Russian · одолжить. The Polish dative and do+genitive are send · wysłać. No English send page.

Notes

Working paper · October 2026 · Russian micro-entry · Beyond Index 2

Sending in Russian is not one marking of the third slot. Sender (Voice, nominative subject), Theme (complement of the root, accusative, genitive писем in the line Rosenthal prints), and either a Recipient (low Appl, bare dative кому, working and revisable) or a Goal (a PP inside the verb’s domain: в+accusative, на+accusative, or к+dative of a person as destination). за+instrumental is the fetch. A bare infinitive is the errand. The aspect pair is the pair the entries name. English send her a letter is a double object. English send X to Y collapses the dative, the к-phrase, and the place. send Paris a letter is unprinted.

RU micro-entry live Beyond Index 2 dative Recipient versus к+dative DE schicken live FR envoyer live ES enviar live IT mandare live PT enviar live PL wysłać live JA 送る live

Sense × language: send · Russian (послать / посылать, отправить / отправлять). The transfer sense is the page. The fetch and the infinitive stay on the page because that is where за and the infinitive sit. The ball, the greeting, and к чёрту stay off the frame. No English send hub. Geometry neighbors: send · wysłać, for a bare dative beside a separate person-as-destination, send · schicken, for the bare dative and for an+accusative, sell · продать, for a Russian dative beside an accusative, and lend · одолжить, for a bare dative Recipient. Index 2 does not list Russian. Russian is not an Index 2 inventory.

Places
EN ⇄ RU strip
Examples
Case and aspect
Derivations
Hierarchy
Geometry
Open items
Corpus and sources

Working paper. Russian micro-entry, eighth language of send. Dictionary frames were read on Gramota for Kuznetsov and for Babenko, on the Gramota search page for Morkovkin, on Ozhegov, on Ushakov and on MAS as served together, on Rosenthal’s government article, and on Russian and English Wiktionary, with Cambridge for the English double object, for to, for the to-infinitive, and for send for.

Constructed examples. Dictionary lines are marked as printed. Every other full clause is marked constructed. письмо брату, сына к врачу, за врачом with a named sender, купить хлеб, and письма under не are constructed on printed frames. The dative of a city is starred because the filled marking is в Москву.

Arity. Index 2 does not list these lemmas. Surface count can name a sender, a person, a thing, and a place. The lexicon does not list four co-arguments of one flat V. Voice adds the Sender. Low Appl adds the dative Recipient. A PP Goal is inside the verb’s domain. The root takes the Theme. за, the infinitive, по почте, and с кем are inside that domain.

What this page does not do. It does not open a separate page for посылать or for отправлять. It does not open an English page of send. The ball, the greeting, and к чёрту stop at the citation. The aspect cell records the pair the entries name.

Hierarchy

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 Recipient where the cloth is a bare dative. A PP adds the Goal, inside the verb’s domain: в plus accusative, на plus accusative, or к plus dative. The root takes the Theme. The drawing is working and revisable.

What Russian changes, against English send her a letter, is that the person is a dative, not a bare accusative object. What Russian changes, against English send X to Y, is that the person who receives the thing, the place, and the person who is the destination do not share one marker. The dative is the person who receives the thing. в and на plus accusative are the place. к plus dative is the person as destination, к врачу and к атаману, and that person is not the recipient of the Theme. What Russian changes, against German schicken, is that the dative and an plus accusative are not the two cloths. Russian has the dative, and it has к plus dative for the doctor and for the ataman. Rosenthal’s к кому is a separate, archaic cloth of the letter’s recipient. What Russian changes, against Polish wysłać, is the preposition on the person-as-destination and the preposition of the fetch. What Russian changes, against English send for, is за plus instrumental. What Russian changes, against the English to-infinitive, is a bare infinitive.

Geometry · send beside the live Polish dative and the German an-phrase

English send. Person as the first object of [+ two objects]. Place in to. Person-as-destination in the same to. Fetch in for. Errand in a to-infinitive. send Paris a letter is unprinted. No English page is opened.
послать / посылать. Accusative Theme. Bare dative Recipient, брату, дочери-студентке, родителям. Place в+accusative and на+accusative. Person-as-destination к+dative. Fetch за+instrumental. Bare infinitive. Aspect cell perfective, partner named посылать. Wiktionary also names слать.
отправить / отправлять. Accusative Theme. в Москву открытку. на станцию. Dative знакомым и родным. Infinitive сопровождать. Partner named отправлять. Not a separate page. Morkovkin lists отправить as a synonym of послать marked less usual.
wysłać. Accusative Theme. Bare dative Recipient. Goal do+genitive, including a person-as-destination, separate from the dative. Fetch po+accusative. Errand żeby. Russian к+dative is the divergence on the person-as-destination. Russian за+instrumental is the divergence on the fetch.
schicken. Accusative Theme. Bare dative Recipient, or an+accusative. Place nach, in, zu. A person-dative beside a place is printed. That an-phrase is the German divergence. Russian к is not it.
envoyer. Direct-object Theme. Recipient à or lui. A place takes y. The infinitive is bare, which the Russian infinitive matches.
enviar. Recipient a+NP doubled by le. Place a or para.
mandare. Recipient a or gli/le. a plus an infinitive. That a is the Italian divergence. Russian prints a bare infinitive.
enviar. Recipient a, para, or lhe. A full noun has no case ending. A Russian full noun in the recipient slot does.
送る. Theme を. The person who receives the thing is に, and へ is also printed on a person. The analogy is the extra marking of the person. It is not a claim that に is a dative ending, and it is not a claim that へ is Russian к.

Open items

Whether low Appl is the right head for the bare dative. The drawing puts the Recipient inside the verb’s domain. The dictionaries print брату and дочери-студентке. They do not print that head. The ranking stays open.
Whether к врачу is the same participant as брату. Morkovkin lists к врачу under куда of the person who is sent, and lists кому under the letter. The articles do not rank the phrases beyond the lines they print. English to does not make the split.
Rosenthal’s archaic к кому. Printed for the delivery sense, with genitive писем. The modern line in the same article is the bare dative. A modern письмо к брату is unprinted. It is not constructed as the positive frame.
на почту. Unprinted. The printed на+accusative lines are на станцию, на рынок, на факультет, на стажировку, на фронт. Nothing further is constructed.
купить хлеб. Unprinted as an infinitive. The printed bread line is за хлебом. The constructed infinitive uses the printed infinitive slot and is marked constructed.
A stack of кому and в Москву. The schema writes кому-л. или куда-л. No citation opened here fills both in one letter clause. Nothing is constructed for the stack.
A passive that keeps the dative. Unprinted. The short passive of the Theme is Телеграмма послана. Nothing is constructed for the dative.
слать. Named on Wiktionary as an imperfective partner, and printed as слали inside the Babenko посылать article. No separate слать article was given a frame of its own.

Corpus filenames and sources

Dictionary frames: Kuznetsov послать and отправить, via Gramota. Babenko посылать and отправлять, via Gramota. Morkovkin, via the Gramota dictionary search. Ozhegov послать and отправить. Ushakov and MAS (Evgenyeva) as served on one explanatory page. Rosenthal послать / посылать. Russian Wiktionary послать and отправить, syntax and aspect, examples absent on послать. English Wiktionary послать, aspect only. English lines: Cambridge send and send for. Constructed clauses put a printed marking on a named sender. письмо брату, к врачу with сына, купить хлеб, and письма are the working limits of the printed frames. Index 2 does not list these lemmas. Polish send is wysłać.

Kuznetsov · послать gramota.ru · послать · кого-что, с инф. · что кому (с кем) · телеграмму брату · за доктором · погулять · в булочную за хлебом
Babenko · посылать gramota.ru · посылать · дочери-студентке сумму · к атаману Каледину · на стажировку · в Германию · partner послать
Kuznetsov · отправить gramota.ru · отправить · в Москву открытку · детей в школу · гостей на станцию · почтой · несов. отправлять
Babenko · отправлять gramota.ru · отправлять · знакомым и родным · сыновей в город · политрука сопровождать
Morkovkin · послать gramota.ru · поиск · послать · к врачу · за врачом · на рынок · в Москву · Лизе подарок · сына за хлебом · Телеграмма послана
Ozhegov · послать ozhegov.info · послать · за доктором · погулять · письмо по почте · несов. посылать
Ozhegov · отправить slovarozhegova.ru · отправить · деньги почтой · курьера с поручением · несов. отправлять
Ushakov and MAS · послать lexicography.online · послать · Ushakov к ним · за каретою · детей гулять · начальствовать · MAS за доктором пошлю · телеграмму родителям
Rosenthal · послать / посылать Розенталь · управление · послать · кому (устар. к кому) · телеграмму родителям · к вам писем
Russian Wiktionary · послать ru.wiktionary.org · послать · imperfective слать, посылать · sense 3 что, куда, кому and устар. к кому · example cell empty
Russian Wiktionary · отправить ru.wiktionary.org · отправить · imperfective отправлять · деньги почтой · посылку по почте · курьера с поручением
English Wiktionary · послать en.wiktionary.org · послать · perfective · imperfective посылать or слать · gloss send, dispatch
Cambridge · send dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/send · I'll send her a letter · send them to the phone recycling company · We're sending the kids to stay
Cambridge · send for dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/send-for · send for a doctor
Polish sibling send · wysłać · bare dative · do+genitive · po+accusative · żeby
German sibling send · schicken · bare dative · an+accusative · place nach / in / zu

Records the accusative Theme of послать and of отправить, and the genitive писем in the line Rosenthal prints. Records the bare dative as the person who receives the thing, and к plus dative as a person standing as the destination, including к врачу. Records в and на plus accusative for a place. Records за plus instrumental and the bare infinitive. Records the aspect pair as the pair the entries name. Does not open an English page.