Rescheduling an appointment | Learn French in English

Sentence explanations

1. Je dois déplacer mon rendez-vous à un autre jour.

   I need to move my appointment to another day.

   Je dois

   I need to

   déplacer

   move

   mon rendez-vous

   my appointment

   autre

   another

   jour

   day

   More detail

   Je dois uses the first-person singular present form of devoir, whose basic meaning here is “need to” or “must.” Devoir is followed by an infinitive to state the action required: Je dois partir = “I need to leave.” The subject form je tells us who has the need; dois agrees with that subject. déplacer is an infinitive meaning “to move” something from one place, time, or arrangement to another. Its infinitive form is used after dois; compare Je dois déplacer... (“I need to move...”) with Je déplace... (“I move...” / “I am moving...”), where déplace is a present-tense form used directly with je. mon rendez-vous means “my appointment.” Rendez-vous is a masculine singular noun in this use, so the possessive form is mon, not ma. The same possessive form can also mean “my” before a masculine singular noun in other sentences; it is not itself a marker of who made the appointment. Example: Mon rendez-vous est demain. = “My appointment is tomorrow.” autre means “other” or “another” and appears before the noun in un autre jour. It is singular here because the destination is presented as one different day, but the indefinite article un by itself should not be treated as a precise numerical count. Autre also changes for number: un autre jour = “another day,” while d'autres jours = “other days.” jour is the masculine singular noun “day.” In this sentence, à un autre jour identifies the new day to which the appointment is moved. The preposition à introduces that destination, and un autre modifies jour. Together, Je dois + déplacer gives “I need to move,” mon rendez-vous supplies the thing being moved, and à un autre jour gives its new time destination. The complete utterance therefore means: “I need to move my appointment to another day.”

2. Je peux vérifier le calendrier pour vous.

   I can check the calendar for you.

   Je peux

   I can

   vérifier

   check; verify

   le calendrier

   the calendar

   pour vous

   for you

   More detail

   Je peux means “I can” here. peux is the first-person singular present form of pouvoir (“to be able to,” “can”): je peux, tu peux, il/elle peut. In French, pouvoir is followed by an infinitive to name the possible action. Example: Je peux aider. — “I can help.” vérifier means “to check” or “to verify.” It is an infinitive, so it stays unchanged after peux; the person and present-time marking are carried by peux. Example: Je peux vérifier l’adresse. — “I can check the address.” le calendrier means “the calendar.” calendrier is a masculine noun, and le is the masculine singular definite article. Its plural is les calendriers; the article changes to les and the noun normally adds -s in writing. Example: Le calendrier est à jour. — “The calendar is up to date.” pour vous means “for you.” vous is the stressed form used after the preposition pour; here it refers to the person or people being addressed, without the sentence specifying whether it is one person addressed formally or more than one person. Compare pour moi — “for me” and pour toi — “for you” when addressing one person informally. Together, Je peux + infinitive vérifier forms “I can check,” le calendrier identifies what will be checked, and pour vous identifies who benefits from the action. The complete meaning is: “I can check the calendar for you.”

3. Y a-t-il une disponibilité plus tard cette semaine ?

   Is there anything later this week?

   Y a-t-il

   Is there …?

   une disponibilité

   an opening / availability

   plus tard

   later

   cette semaine

   this week

   More detail

   Y a-t-il is the question form of il y a, used to ask whether something exists or is available. In this form, il comes after the verb: y a-t-il ... ? The -t- is a linking sound/spelling used between the verb and il; it is not an independent word. Example: Y a-t-il un problème ? — “Is there a problem?” une disponibilité is a feminine noun meaning an available time or opening here. The article une agrees with the noun’s grammatical gender; it does not by itself assert a specific numeric count. The same noun can refer to availability more generally in other contexts. Example: J’ai une disponibilité demain matin. — “I have an opening tomorrow morning.” plus tard means “later.” plus makes tard comparative: tard means “late,” while plus tard means “later.” Example: Nous pouvons parler plus tard. — “We can talk later.” cette semaine means “this week.” cette is the feminine singular form of the demonstrative determiner because semaine is feminine singular. The phrase identifies the current week in the utterance’s time frame. Example: Je travaille cette semaine. — “I am working this week.” Together, Y a-t-il une disponibilité plus tard cette semaine ? asks whether there is an available opening at a later time during the current week. In the supplied translation, that availability is naturally rendered as “anything” in the question: “Is there anything later this week?”

4. Il y a une disponibilité l'après-midi plus tard cette semaine.

   There is an afternoon opening later this week.

   Il y a

   there is

   disponibilité

   availability; opening

   l'après-midi

   afternoon

   plus tard

   later

   cette

   this

   semaine

   week

   More detail

   Il y a is the fixed French existential construction meaning “there is” or “there are.” It introduces what exists or is available; the following noun phrase supplies that item. The form il here is part of the construction, not a clearly identified person. Example: Il y a une erreur. — “There is a mistake.” disponibilité is a feminine noun meaning “availability” and, in a scheduling context, “an opening” or “a time slot.” Its useful related adjective is disponible — “available” — but the observed word is the noun. The indefinite article une before it agrees with this feminine noun; it presents an opening without asserting a specific numerical count beyond the singular grammatical form. Example: J’ai une disponibilité demain. — “I have an opening tomorrow.” l’après-midi means “the afternoon.” The noun après-midi can be used for this part of the day, and l’ is the elided form of the definite article before a vowel sound. In this sentence, the phrase identifies the time of the opening. Example: Je travaille l’après-midi. — “I work in the afternoon.” plus tard means “later.” Here tard is the time adverb “late,” and plus tard is its comparative form used for a later time. It modifies the time reference rather than the availability itself. Example: Nous pouvons parler plus tard. — “We can talk later.” cette means “this” in its feminine singular form. It agrees with the noun it determines, while the form used with a masculine singular noun is ce or cet before a vowel sound. In the fixed sentence, it combines with semaine; the demonstrative marks that week as the relevant one. Example: cette journée — “this day.” semaine is a feminine noun meaning “week.” Its plural is semaines. In cette semaine, the feminine singular demonstrative agrees with it: cette semaine — “this week.” Example: La semaine commence lundi. — “The week starts on Monday.” Together, Il y a introduces une disponibilité, so the sentence says that an opening exists. l’après-midi specifies the part of the day, and plus tard cette semaine places it later within the current week. The complete meaning is: “There is an afternoon opening later this week.”

5. Ça me convient.

   That works for me.

   Ça

   That

   me

   to me

   convient

   works

   More detail

   Ça is a demonstrative pronoun meaning “that” or “that situation/option.” Here it refers to what is being proposed or discussed; the sentence does not identify a more specific noun inside ça. A reusable pattern is Ça ... for commenting on a situation: Ça marche. — “That works.” me is the first-person singular indirect-object pronoun “to me” or “for me.” It is an unstressed clitic and comes before the conjugated verb. It does not determine the verb’s number; ça is the grammatical subject. convient is the present-tense third-person singular form of convenir. In this use, convenir à quelqu’un means “to suit someone” or “to be acceptable to someone,” so ça me convient naturally corresponds to “that works for me.” A useful form chain is je conviens, il/elle/on convient, ils/elles conviennent; the form changes with the subject, while me marks the person for whom something is suitable. Example: Cette heure me convient. — “This time works for me.” Together, Ça is the thing or situation being evaluated, me identifies the person it suits, and convient states that it is suitable. The complete utterance therefore means “That works for me.”

6. Je peux venir cet après-midi-là.

   I can come that afternoon.

   Je peux

   I can

   venir

   come

   cet

   that

   après-midi

   afternoon

   là

   that

   More detail

   Je peux uses pouvoir (“to be able to, can”) in the present tense, first-person singular: je peux = “I can.” The form expresses the speaker’s ability or possibility here. The subject is included in the verb phrase, so peux is the form used with je; other subjects use forms such as tu peux (“you can”) and il peut (“he/it can”). venir is the infinitive “to come.” After peux, French uses the infinitive for the action that is possible: Je peux venir = “I can come.” The infinitive remains venir, rather than changing to agree with je. cet is the masculine singular form of the demonstrative determiner, meaning “this/that” before a masculine singular noun beginning with a vowel sound. Here it agrees with après-midi, so cet après-midi means “this/that afternoon.” Compare ce jour (“this/that day”) before a consonant sound and cette semaine (“this/that week”) with a feminine singular noun. après-midi means “afternoon.” In this sentence it is a masculine singular noun, as shown by cet. The hyphenated form is the normal written form. Example: L’après-midi commence à une heure. — “The afternoon starts at one o’clock.” là literally indicates a location or point (“there”), but after a demonstrative noun phrase it helps specify “that” rather than simply “this”: cet après-midi-là = “that afternoon.” It is separate from cet and follows the noun, forming the reusable pattern ce/cet/cette ...-là for a specifically identified “that ...”. Together, Je peux + venir gives “I can come,” and cet après-midi-là identifies the time as “that afternoon.” The complete utterance is therefore: “I can come that afternoon.” This is a neutral, reusable way to state that coming at a particular afternoon is possible.

7. Je vais modifier le rendez-vous.

   I will update the appointment.

   Je vais

   I go; I am going

   modifier

   update; change

   rendez-vous

   appointment

   More detail

   Je vais combines the present-tense form vais of aller (“to go”) with the following infinitive to express the near future: Je vais + infinitive = “I am going to …” or, as here, “I will …”. By itself, Je vais means “I go” or “I am going”; the future meaning comes from its combination with modifier. Je is the first-person singular subject, and vais is the form of aller used with that subject. Example: Je vais répondre. — “I am going to reply.” modifier is an infinitive meaning “to modify” or “to change”; in this sentence, “update” is the appropriate translation for the appointment. It is the action placed after vais in the near-future pattern. As a regular -er verb, its present forms include je modifie, nous modifions, and ils modifient; the infinitive itself does not show the subject. Example: Nous allons modifier le plan. — “We are going to change the plan.” rendez-vous is a noun meaning “appointment” here. Its spelling stays the same in the plural: un rendez-vous can mean “an appointment,” while des rendez-vous means “appointments”; the article shows the number. In this sentence, le marks the noun phrase as singular, masculine, and definite: “the appointment.” Together, Je vais modifier le rendez-vous follows the reusable pattern subject + aller in the present + infinitive + object. It means “I will update the appointment,” with the future action expressed through vais modifier and the object identified as le rendez-vous.

8. Dois-je apporter les mêmes documents ?

   Should I bring the same documents?

   Dois-je

   Should I…?

   apporter

   bring

   mêmes

   same

   documents

   documents

   More detail

   Dois-je is the question form of devoir with subject je: je dois means “I must” or “I should,” while inversion gives dois-je ... ? for “Should I ...?” Here it asks about the speaker’s intended action, not a statement that the action is required. Example: Dois-je attendre ? — “Should I wait?” apporter is the infinitive meaning “to bring” something to a place or situation. After the conjugated form dois, French uses the infinitive: je dois apporter — “I must/should bring.” The infinitive stays apporter; the person and tense information is carried by dois. Example: Je dois apporter mon passeport. — “I must bring my passport.” mêmes means “same” here. It is the plural form of même, agreeing with the plural noun documents; in a feminine plural phrase, it also has the form mêmes, as in les mêmes feuilles — “the same sheets.” Do not confuse this adjective with différents — “different.” documents is the plural of document, meaning “documents” or “papers.” The plural is marked by final -s, which is normally not pronounced in French. In this sentence, les mêmes documents means “the same documents,” with mêmes describing which documents are meant. Together, dois-je + infinitive forms a yes/no question about whether the speaker should perform the action: Dois-je apporter ... ? means “Should I bring ...?” The noun phrase les mêmes documents supplies what should be brought, so the complete utterance is “Should I bring the same documents?”

9. Veuillez apporter votre carte et le formulaire rempli.

   Please bring your card and the completed form.

   Veuillez

   please

   apporter

   bring

   votre

   your

   carte

   card

   formulaire

   form

   rempli

   completed

   More detail

   Veuillez is the polite imperative form used to make a formal request. With an infinitive, the reusable pattern is Veuillez + infinitive: Veuillez patienter. = “Please wait.” The following apporter remains in the infinitive because it completes this request construction. apporter means “to bring” here: to bring something to the relevant place or person. Its infinitive is useful after veuillez; in a direct informal command, French can use Apporte… for one familiar person or Apportez… for a formal or plural addressee. Example: Veuillez apporter votre passeport. = “Please bring your passport.” votre is the possessive determiner meaning “your” before one singular noun. It can refer to one or more addressees; the form does not show the addressee’s number. It also does not change for the noun’s gender: votre carte and votre formulaire. Before a plural noun, use vos, as in vos documents = “your documents.” carte is a feminine noun meaning “card” in this sentence. A useful agreement pattern is une carte / la carte; the article and other words can show the noun’s feminine singular form. Here, votre does not show that gender. formulaire means “form” or “form document.” It is a masculine noun: un formulaire and le formulaire. The noun is modified by rempli, so the phrase identifies a form that has been completed. rempli means “completed” here and agrees with the masculine singular noun formulaire. Its base form is remplir (“to fill” or “complete”); related agreement forms include remplie with a feminine singular noun, remplis with a masculine plural noun, and remplies with a feminine plural noun. Example: la fiche remplie = “the completed form/sheet.” Together, Veuillez apporter makes a polite formal request to bring something. votre carte is the first requested item, and le formulaire rempli is the second: le marks one specific form, while rempli describes it as completed. The conjunction et joins the two objects. The whole utterance therefore means: “Please bring your card and the completed form.”