Pouvez-vous mettre ce livre de côté pour moi, s'il vous plaît?

Pouvez-vous is the formal way to say can you? in a direct question.

It is made of:

• pouvez = can / are able to (from pouvoir)
• vous = you (formal singular or plural)

French often forms a formal question by inverting the verb and subject pronoun:

• statement: Vous pouvez...
• question: Pouvez-vous... ?

This structure sounds polite and natural in formal situations.

The hyphen is required in this kind of inverted question.

In French, when the verb comes before the subject pronoun in a question, they are linked with a hyphen:

• Avez-vous... ?
• Voulez-vous... ?
• Pouvez-vous... ?

So Pouvez-vous is standard spelling, not optional punctuation.

Because pouvoir is a modal verb, and it is followed by another verb in the infinitive.

So:

• pouvez = can
• mettre = to put / to place / to set aside

This works like English:

• Can you put...
• Pouvez-vous mettre...

After pouvoir, you do not conjugate the second verb here.

Mettre de côté is an expression meaning to put aside, to set aside, or to keep aside.

Literally:

• mettre = to put
• de côté = to the side

But together, it often means:

• physically put something aside
• reserve something
• keep it for someone

In a shop, mettre ce livre de côté often means hold this book for me.

Sometimes, yes, but not always.

Réserver means to reserve, and it is common for hotels, tickets, tables, and sometimes items. But for an object in a shop, mettre de côté is often more idiomatic and natural.

Compare:

• Pouvez-vous mettre ce livre de côté pour moi ? = very natural in a bookstore
• Pouvez-vous réserver ce livre pour moi ? = understandable, but can sound a bit less idiomatic depending on the context

So mettre de côté is a very good choice here.

Because livre is a masculine singular noun that begins with a consonant.

French uses:

• ce before a masculine singular noun beginning with a consonant
  
  • ce livre
• cet before a masculine singular noun beginning with a vowel or mute h
  
  • cet ami
  • cet hôtel

So ce livre is correct.

Pour moi means for me, and it makes clear who the book should be set aside for.

The sentence would still be grammatical without it:

• Pouvez-vous mettre ce livre de côté, s'il vous plaît ?

But adding pour moi is very natural if you want to emphasize that the book should be held in your name or for your benefit.

In many real situations, it is useful because it avoids ambiguity.

S'il vous plaît is the standard polite expression meaning please in formal speech.

Literally, it comes from if it pleases you, but learners should usually think of it simply as please.

It matches vous, so it is appropriate in a formal or respectful sentence.

You could also say:

• S'il vous plaît, pouvez-vous mettre ce livre de côté pour moi ?
• Pouvez-vous, s'il vous plaît, mettre ce livre de côté pour moi ?
• Pouvez-vous mettre ce livre de côté pour moi, s'il vous plaît ?

All are possible. Putting it at the end is very common.

It can be either:

• formal singular: when speaking politely to one person
• plural: when speaking to more than one person

In this sentence, the most likely meaning is formal singular, such as speaking politely to a store employee. But grammatically, it could also address multiple people.

It is polite and fairly formal, but still very natural in everyday life.

The formality comes from:

• vous instead of tu
• inversion in Pouvez-vous
• s'il vous plaît

This is exactly the kind of sentence you could use with:

• a bookseller
• a librarian
• a receptionist
• someone you do not know well

Yes, if you are speaking to someone you know well, a child, or someone you would normally address with tu.

Changes:

• Pouvez-vous → Tu peux
• s'il vous plaît → s'il te plaît

So:

• formal/polite: Pouvez-vous mettre ce livre de côté pour moi, s'il vous plaît ?
• informal: Tu peux mettre ce livre de côté pour moi, s'il te plaît ?

The meaning stays the same, but the level of formality changes.

Pourriez-vous is often even softer and more polite.

Compare:

• Pouvez-vous... ? = Can you... ?
• Pourriez-vous... ? = Could you... ?

So:

• Pourriez-vous mettre ce livre de côté pour moi, s'il vous plaît ?

This version may sound slightly more courteous or less direct, especially in customer-service situations. Both are correct and natural.

A careful pronunciation would be roughly:

poo-vay voo meh-truh suh leevr duh koh-tay poor mwah, seel voo pleh

A few useful points:

• Pouvez-vous: the final z in pouvez links to vous, so you hear a z sound flowing into the next word.
• ce sounds like suh
• livre has a short i sound, not like English live-er
• de côté has an é sound at the end of côté
• s'il vous plaît is pronounced smoothly, often quite quickly in natural speech

You do not need perfect pronunciation for people to understand you, but the rhythm of the sentence is useful to practice.

It can mean either one, depending on context, but in many real-life situations it usually means hold it for me.

For example:

• in a bookstore: please keep this book aside for me
• at home or in an office: please put this book aside for me

So the expression is flexible. Context tells you whether it is a simple physical action or a request to reserve the item.