Why is it correct to say "email me", whereas with the word mail we say/write "mail to me"?
asked Nov 14, 2010 at 2:59
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I cannot understand the question. Are you claiming that “send me an e-mail” and “send a mail to me” are correct but “send me a mail” and “send an e-mail to me” are incorrect? If so, I doubt that claim.– Tsuyoshi ItoNov 14, 2010 at 3:12
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Now I realized that the title of the question contains yet another expression “email me,” which is not mentioned in the text of the question. What is your question after all?– Tsuyoshi ItoNov 14, 2010 at 3:17
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2 Answers
The only person I know who says "mail to me" is very much not a native speaker of English. "Write mail to me" is only marginally better.
Mail me that package.
Email me that report.
Please [write|send] me a letter.
Please [write|send] me an email.
Write me!
Email me!
I got lots of mail.
I got lots of letters.
I got lots of emails.
Nobody ever sends me any mail.
Nobody ever sends me any email.
Nobody ever writes [to] me.
Nobody ever emails me.
Please mail that card to me.
Please email that picture to me.
As you can see, there are some differences between how the word "mail" is used vs. how the word "email" is used, but that difference isn't that "mail" takes "to" while "email" doesn't. It's more that "email" is used as the electronic equivalent of not just "mail", but also "letter".
"Correct"? That's just what many people use. If that makes it "correct", so be it.
Some of us can't generate that construct. We just just say send me mail, always. Well, or mail me, I guess. I never say email at all, really. Mail means email. Snail-mail is postal mail.
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@Mari-LouA I am not omniscient. I see things only as they come to me, not seeing everything everywhere everywhen.– tchrist ♦Jul 1, 2015 at 17:30
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Strange, you've never seen Scotm post two answers on the same question? Because he's posted two, and three answers several times, spread over a period of months, not days. (deleting first comment) Jul 2, 2015 at 1:30