Learn Hardcore French: Nous avons une réunion en visioconférence demain matin. - We have a meeting by videoconference tomorrow morning.

In French, the present tense is very often used for scheduled future events, especially when the time is clearly indicated (here: demain matin).

Nous avons une réunion demain matin.
= “We have a meeting tomorrow morning.” (scheduled, already on the agenda)

This is similar to English present simple or present continuous:

We have a meeting tomorrow.
We’re having a meeting tomorrow.

You can say Nous aurons une réunion demain matin, but it sounds a bit more formal, distant, or like an announcement. In everyday speech, Nous avons une réunion demain matin is more natural.

What’s the difference between réunion and rendez-vous? Both can mean “meeting”, right?

Yes, both can be translated as “meeting”, but they’re used differently:

Une réunion
- Usually a work/organization meeting with several people.
- For example: team meeting, staff meeting, committee meeting.
- Nous avons une réunion avec toute l’équipe.
Un rendez-vous
- Often a one-to-one appointment: doctor, hairdresser, date, job interview, etc.
- Also used for pre-arranged meetings more generally.
- J’ai un rendez-vous chez le médecin.
- J’ai rendez-vous avec mon patron.

In a professional context where several people will attend, réunion is the natural choice.

Why is it une réunion and not la réunion or just réunion without any article?

French almost always needs an article before a noun, unlike English.

Une réunion = a meeting (indefinite; one meeting, not yet specified in the conversation)
La réunion = the meeting (a specific one both speakers already have in mind)

Here, une réunion is used because we’re introducing the meeting as a fact: “We have a meeting tomorrow morning.” If the meeting was already identified in the conversation, you might say:

La réunion en visioconférence est demain matin.
“The videoconference meeting is tomorrow morning.”

Using no article (∅ réunion) is incorrect in standard French.

Why is réunion feminine (une réunion) and not masculine (un réunion)?

In French, the gender of nouns is grammatical, not logical, and must be memorized.

Réunion is feminine because that’s simply how the word is defined in French: une réunion. However, there’s a helpful pattern:

Many nouns ending in -ion are feminine:
- une nation, une conversation, une décision, une organisation, une réunion

So when you see a noun ending in -ion, it’s usually feminine, and you’ll normally use une / la with it.

What does en visioconférence literally mean, and why use en here? Could I say par visioconférence instead?

En visioconférence literally means “in videoconference” and is best understood as “by videoconference / via videoconference”.

The preposition en is commonly used for means or modes:
- en voiture – by car
- en avion – by plane
- en visioconférence – by videoconference

You can also hear par visioconférence:

Nous avons une réunion par visioconférence.

Both are acceptable. En visioconférence is very common and sounds natural in business contexts. Par visioconférence focuses slightly more on the means (similar to “by videoconference”), but in practice they are often interchangeable.

Can I shorten en visioconférence to something more casual, like people do in English (“on Zoom”, “on Teams”, etc.)?

Yes, in informal speech people often shorten it:

en visio (very common)
- On a une réunion en visio demain matin.

Or they mention the platform:

en réunion Zoom, sur Zoom, sur Teams, en call Teams, etc.

In a more neutral or slightly formal context, en visioconférence is perfectly standard and clear.

Why is demain matin at the end of the sentence? Can I put it at the beginning instead?

Both positions are correct. Time expressions in French are fairly flexible.

Nous avons une réunion en visioconférence demain matin.
Demain matin, nous avons une réunion en visioconférence.

Differences:

Putting demain matin at the end is very common and neutral.
Putting Demain matin at the beginning slightly emphasizes the time (“Tomorrow morning, …”).

You would not say matin demain; the usual order is demain matin (“tomorrow morning”).

Could I say Nous avons une réunion demain matin en visioconférence instead? Does the order of en visioconférence and demain matin matter?

Yes, that order is also correct:

Nous avons une réunion en visioconférence demain matin.
Nous avons une réunion demain matin en visioconférence.

Both are grammatical and mean the same thing. Native speakers probably use the first one slightly more often, but both sound natural. In French, time and manner phrases can often switch order without changing the meaning much.

Is there a liaison between avons and une? How should I pronounce nous avons une réunion?

Yes, there is a liaison obligatoire between avons and une:

nous avons une réunion → pronounced roughly:
[nou zavɔ̃ zyn ʁe.y.njɔ̃]

Details:

nous → [nu]
avons → [avɔ̃]
- The -s of nous is usually silent, but here it links and sounds like a [z]: nous avons → [nou zavɔ̃]
une → [yn]
- Another liaison: the -s of avons is not pronounced, but the [z] sound is carried over before une: avons une → [avɔ̃zyn] when said quickly.
réunion → [ʁe.y.njɔ̃]
- 3 syllables: ré-u-nion, with é as in “café”.

In natural speech, Nous avons une réunion flows together quite smoothly, with liaisons linking the words.

How do I pronounce réunion? It looks tricky.

Réunion is pronounced approximately [ʁe.y.njɔ̃] and has 3 syllables:

ré – like “ray” in English (but shorter)
u – like the French u sound [y], made with lips rounded as for “oo” but tongue position of “ee”
nion – like “nyon”, where ni is like the “ny” sound in “onion” or Spanish ñ (as in señor), and on is a nasal vowel [ɔ̃]

Broken down:

ré-u-nion → [ʁe] + [y] + [njɔ̃]

It takes practice, but focusing on ré + u + nyon helps.

Could I use on instead of nous here? What would be the difference between Nous avons une réunion… and On a une réunion…?

Yes, you can. In spoken French, on is extremely common and often replaces nous for “we”.

Nous avons une réunion en visioconférence demain matin.
- Slightly more formal or careful, typical in writing, presentations, official emails.
On a une réunion en visioconférence demain matin.
- Very common in everyday speech, more informal.

The meaning (we have a meeting) is the same; it’s mainly a question of register (formal vs informal) and style.

If there are several meetings tomorrow morning, how would I say that?

You would make réunion plural:

Nous avons des réunions en visioconférence demain matin.
= “We have meetings by videoconference tomorrow morning.”

Notes:

des = plural of un/une (“some” or just indicates plural).
réunions takes an -s in writing, but that -s is silent in speech.
en visioconférence doesn’t change.