Peux-tu m’envoyer le document par courriel ce soir?

Can you send me the document by email tonight?

Breakdown of Peux-tu m’envoyer le document par courriel ce soir?

• tu: you
• pouvoir: to be able to
• me: me
• envoyer: to send

Questions & Answers about Peux-tu m’envoyer le document par courriel ce soir?

Why is it peux-tu instead of tu peux?

Peux-tu uses inversion, a common way to form a yes/no question in French.

• Statement: Tu peux m’envoyer le document.
• Question: Peux-tu m’envoyer le document ?

In English, this is similar to changing You can send me the document into Can you send me the document?

French also has other ways to ask the same question, such as:

• Tu peux m’envoyer le document ce soir ? — very common in speech
• Est-ce que tu peux m’envoyer le document ce soir ? — also very common

So peux-tu is correct and natural, especially in slightly more careful or written French.

Why is there a hyphen in peux-tu?

When French uses inversion, the verb and subject pronoun are joined by a hyphen.

So you write:

• Peux-tu
• Avez-vous
• Veut-il

Not:

• Peux tu
• Avez vous

The hyphen is part of the standard spelling for this question structure.

Why is it peux and not peut?