Kan ni komma den tolfte november, eller passar den femte december bättre?

Ni can mean either:

• you (plural) — talking to more than one person
• you (polite singular) — a more formal or service-style way to address one person

In modern Swedish, ni is most commonly plural. But in some contexts, especially customer service or formal communication, it can also be used politely to one person.

So this sentence could mean:

• asking several people if they can come, or
• asking one person politely

Context tells you which one is meant.

Because after the modal verb kan (can), Swedish uses the infinitive without att.

So:

• kan komma = can come
• vill komma = want to come
• måste komma = must come

This is like English, where you say can come, not can to come.

Swedish normally uses an ordinal number for dates:

• den första januari = the first of January
• den femte december = the fifth of December
• den tolfte november = the twelfth of November

So when giving a full date, Swedish often uses:

den + ordinal number + month

That is the natural pattern in speech.

In dates, den is part of the standard way of expressing a specific day of the month.

So:

• den femte december
• den tolfte november

You can think of it as corresponding loosely to the in English expressions like the fifth of December.

In everyday writing, Swedish often writes just:

• 12 november
• 5 december

But when read aloud, that is typically pronounced as an ordinal date, often with den.

Because Swedish usually does not need a preposition before an exact date.

English:

• on the twelfth of November

Swedish:

• den tolfte november

So in this sentence, komma den tolfte november is completely natural.

Compare:

• i november = in November
• på fredag = on Friday
• den tolfte november = on the twelfth of November

Exact dates often appear without a preposition.

They are ordinal numbers:

• femte = fifth
• tolfte = twelfth

Swedish uses these for dates, just as English uses fifth, twelfth, twenty-third, and so on.

A useful contrast is:

• fem = five

• femte = fifth

• tolv = twelve
• tolfte = twelfth

Passar comes from passa, which can mean suit, fit, or be convenient.

In this sentence, passar den femte december bättre? means something like:

• Would the fifth of December suit you better?
• Would the fifth of December be better?
• Is the fifth of December more convenient?

And bättre means better.

So passar bättre is a very common way to ask whether another time or date is more convenient.

Because this part is also a question, and Swedish normally puts the finite verb first in yes/no questions.

Compare:

• Den femte december passar bättre. = The fifth of December suits better.
• Passar den femte december bättre? = Would the fifth of December be better?

After eller (or), Swedish simply starts another question:

• Kan ni komma den tolfte november, eller passar den femte december bättre?

So the word order is perfectly regular question word order.

No. In Swedish, month names are normally written with lowercase letters:

• november
• december
• januari

This is different from English, where months are capitalized.

So den tolfte november is correct, not den tolfte November.

It can do both, but in this sentence it most naturally works as a practical invitation/request about availability.

Literally, kan ni komma means can you come. But just like in English, that often really means:

• Are you able to come?
• Would you be able to come?
• Does that date work for you?

So it is not only about physical ability. It is usually about whether the date is possible or convenient.

Yes, you may see dates written without den, especially in simple date notation:

• 12 november
• 5 december

But in full spoken language, den is very common and natural:

• den tolfte november
• den femte december

So for learners, den + ordinal + month is an excellent pattern to learn for speaking.

It sounds natural, polite, and fairly neutral. It would fit well in:

• an email
• a message arranging a meeting
• a polite spoken question
• customer or professional communication

The sentence is not overly formal, but it is more polished than something very casual. The use of passar ... bättre especially gives it a polite, considerate tone.