French Phrase
On peut décaler à 14h ?
Meaning
A polite way to ask whether a meeting, appointment, or any scheduled event can be moved to 2 p.m. The question is informal but courteous, using the impersonal ‘on’ to soften the request.
When to use
Use this sentence in casual or semi‑formal settings—among colleagues, friends, or when you’re already in a dialogue about scheduling. It’s less appropriate in very formal business letters where you’d prefer ‘Serait‑il possible de reporter à 14 h ?’
✦Grammar Breakdown
Onpeutdécalerà14h?
On (impersonal pronoun)
‘On’ is used like ‘we’ or ‘one’ in informal French, often to make a request sound less direct.
peut (pouvoir, present)
‘Peut’ is the third‑person singular present of ‘pouvoir’ and means ‘can’ or ‘may’.
décaler (verb)
‘Décaler’ means ‘to shift, to move (a time or a date)’. It is a regular -er verb.
à (preposition for time)
‘À’ introduces the new time. With hours it is followed by the hour expression (e.g., 14h).
14h (time expression)
‘14h’ is the short written form of ‘quatorze heures’, pronounced ‘quatorze heures’.
🗨In Conversation
On peut décaler à 14h ?
Can we move it to 2 p.m.?
Oui, c’est parfait, je note 14h.
Yes, that’s perfect, I’ll note 2 p.m.
✕Common Mistakes
On peut déplacer à 14h ?
‘Déplacer’ is used for moving physical objects, not for changing a time.
On peut décaler à 14h heures ?
Both ‘14h’ and ‘14 heures’ are correct, but mixing the short form with the word ‘heures’ (e.g., ‘14h heures’) is a common error.
Nous pouvons décaler à 14h ?
Using ‘nous pouvons’ is grammatically fine but sounds overly formal for a quick scheduling question.
↔Alternatives
Est‑ce qu’on peut repousser à 14h ?
Could we push it back to 2 p.m.?
Peut‑on déplacer la réunion à 14h ?
Can we move the meeting to 2 p.m.?
Serait‑il possible de reprogrammer à 14h ?
Would it be possible to reschedule for 2 p.m.?
Cultural Tip
In French, ‘décaler’ is a very common verb for shifting times, especially in spoken language. In a strictly formal context you might choose ‘reprogrammer’ or ‘reporter’. Also, when writing the time, French usually adds a space before the abbreviation: ‘14 h’ or writes it out fully ‘14 heures’. The impersonal ‘on’ makes the request sound collaborative rather than demanding.