Peux-tu me dire la date de la réunion?

Peux-tu is an example of subject-verb inversion, a common way to form a question in formal or standard written French.

• tu peux = you can
• peux-tu ? = can you?

So:

• Tu peux me dire la date de la réunion. = statement
• Peux-tu me dire la date de la réunion ? = question

This inversion is a bit more formal than everyday spoken French. In casual speech, people often say:

• Tu peux me dire la date de la réunion ?

Both mean the same thing.

Because the verb is pouvoir (to be able to / can), and its tu form in the present tense is tu peux.

Present tense:

• je peux
• tu peux
• il/elle/on peut
• nous pouvons
• vous pouvez
• ils/elles peuvent

So when inverted, tu peux becomes peux-tu.

Me means to me.

In Peux-tu me dire..., the structure is:

• peux-tu = can you
• me dire = tell me

So literally, it is something like:

• Can you tell me...

French often uses object pronouns like me, te, lui, nous before the infinitive or conjugated verb, depending on the structure.

Examples:

• Peux-tu me répondre ? = Can you answer me?
• Va me chercher. = Go get me / go fetch it for me

In French, object pronouns such as me, te, le, la, lui, nous, vous, leur usually come before the verb they belong to.

So:

• me dire = to tell me
• not dire me

Compare:

• Il me parle. = He speaks to me.
• Tu peux me dire... = You can tell me...

This word order is very different from English, where me usually comes after the verb: tell me.

French usually requires an article where English may or may not use one.

• la date = the date

In English, you might say:

• Can you tell me the date of the meeting? or more naturally:
• Can you tell me the date for the meeting?
• When is the meeting?

But in French, date normally needs an article:

• la date

This is very common:

• la réunion = the meeting
• le livre = the book
• la voiture = the car

De la réunion means of the meeting.

This structure is:

• la date de la réunion
• literally: the date of the meeting

Here:

• de = of
• la réunion = the meeting

French often links nouns with de:

• le titre du livre = the title of the book
• la porte de la maison = the door of the house
• la date de la réunion = the date of the meeting

So de la réunion tells us which date we are talking about.

Because réunion is a feminine noun, and it normally takes the definite article la.

So:

• la réunion = the meeting

When de comes before la, it stays de la:

• de la réunion = of the meeting

Compare:

• de + le → du
  • le début du film = the beginning of the film
• de + la → de la
  • la date de la réunion = the date of the meeting
• de + les → des
  • la fin des vacances = the end of the holidays

Réunion is feminine, which is why we say la réunion.

You often have to learn noun gender together with the noun:

• la réunion, not just réunion

A useful pattern is that many nouns ending in -ion are feminine:

• la réunion
• la nation
• la conversation
• la décision

This is a helpful clue, though not an absolute rule for every noun in French.

A rough pronunciation guide is:

puh-tu muh deer la daht duh la ray-oo-nyon

A bit more carefully:

• Peux sounds roughly like puh with rounded lips
• tu sounds like tyu or tu with a French u
• me often sounds like a light muh
• dire sounds like deer
• date sounds like daht
• de la sounds like duh la
• réunion sounds roughly like ray-oo-nyon

A few important notes:

• The x in peux is silent.
• The t in peux-tu is pronounced because tu starts with a consonant.
• In natural speech, me may sound reduced.

It is polite and fairly neutral, but the inversion Peux-tu... ? makes it sound a bit more formal than everyday casual speech.

Three common ways to ask the same thing are:

1. Peux-tu me dire la date de la réunion ?

   • standard, polite, a little more formal

2. Tu peux me dire la date de la réunion ?

   • very common in speech, less formal

3. Pouvez-vous me dire la date de la réunion ?

   • more polite or formal, used with vous

So this sentence is not extremely formal, but it is more polished than casual spoken French.

Use tu when speaking to:

• a friend
• a family member
• a child
• a classmate or coworker you are on informal terms with

Use vous when speaking to:

• someone you do not know well
• a teacher, client, customer, or superior
• more than one person

So:

• Peux-tu me dire la date de la réunion ? = speaking to one person informally
• Pouvez-vous me dire la date de la réunion ? = speaking politely or to more than one person

Yes. Quelle est la date de la réunion ? is also correct.

The difference is in tone and structure:

• Peux-tu me dire la date de la réunion ?

  • literally: Can you tell me the date of the meeting?
  • sounds like a request for information from the other person

• Quelle est la date de la réunion ?

  • literally: What is the date of the meeting?
  • asks for the information more directly

Both are natural, but Peux-tu me dire... is often a little softer or more polite because it is framed as a request.

Yes. In real conversation, many speakers would say something simpler, such as:

• Tu peux me dire la date de la réunion ?
• C’est quand, la réunion ?
• La réunion, c’est quelle date ?
• Elle est quand, la réunion ?

These all depend on context and level of formality. The original sentence is perfectly correct, but in relaxed spoken French, people often prefer less formal question structures.