Monday Works, but Can We Do It at Eleven Instead? How to Change a Meeting Time in English

The invitation says Monday, 10:00. New website. You cannot do ten o’clock, because you have a call. Monday itself is fine. You have about a minute to answer, and four replies are waiting in your head.

You can write OK and hope for the best. You can write I can’t Monday ten. You can write three sentences of apology and a long story about the call. Or you can send one line that keeps Monday and moves only the hour. This page goes through the four replies, one at a time, and ends with the one that works.

The story and the lines in curly marks come from a podcast episode for B1-B2 learners about one working day, linked at the end. Sentences in italics are written for this page unless they are marked as quotes.

The OK that sent Paul to the dentist

Paul, one of the hosts, tells how he once answered a request to move a meeting in his first week at an English-speaking office: “I said OK. Then I missed the meeting, because I was at the dentist.” (02:41) His colleague wanted a new time, and Paul could not make it. His co-host Emily gives the diagnosis in one sentence: “You said OK to a time you could not make.” (02:46)

Notice that Paul’s English was not the problem. OK is a real word, and it was a polite word. The problem is that OK means yes to everything the other person said, including the time. If the time is wrong for you, OK is a wrong answer.

Four replies to one invitation

Here are the four replies side by side. The table is written for this page.

Reply	What the other person hears	What happens next
OK.	Yes, ten o’clock is fine.	You miss the meeting or you cancel later, which is worse
I can’t Monday ten.	No.	The other person must find a new time alone
I’m so sorry, I have a call, it’s a long story, I know it’s a bad moment…	This is a problem for you, not for me.	The talk is about your apology, not the meeting
Monday works, but can we do it at eleven instead?	Monday is fine. Please move the hour.	The other person says yes or gives one more option

The second reply is the one that most learners choose when they have learned that OK is dangerous. The episode explains why it is only half a fix. The words are understood, but Emily says: “It sounds like a closed door.” (12:30) Paul adds what the door does to the other person: “Then the other person has to do all the work.” (12:34) They have to find a new time alone, with no hint from you.

Keep the piece that fits, move the piece that does not

The episode gives you a picture for the fourth reply. Emily says: “Changing a meeting time is like moving a puzzle piece.” (10:46) You do not throw the piece away. Paul says you do not throw the piece away, and she answers: “You keep the part that fits, and you move only the part that does not.” (10:53)

So you look at the invitation and sort the pieces. Monday fits. Ten o’clock does not. The answer in the episode keeps the first and moves the second: “Monday works, but can we do it at eleven instead?” (11:38)

You can use the same shape for any invitation. The formula has four small parts:

1. The piece that fits. Monday works,
2. The turn. but can we do it
3. The new piece. at eleven
4. The word that closes the sentence. instead?

Instead goes at the end of the question, and Paul points it out: “And look where instead goes. At the end.” (12:46) It tells the other person that eleven replaces ten, so there is no doubt about which hour you mean.

The first part is the one that changes your tone the most. When you begin with what works, the other person hears a yes before the but. Emily says it is better than the closed door because “with Monday works, but can we do it at eleven instead, you already give them the answer.” (12:44)

One short reason, and then stop

Do you need to explain why ten does not work? A short reason is polite, and the episode gives you one: I have a call at ten. (11:41) Look at its size. It has six words, one fact and no apology. Paul points it out: “And a short reason.” (11:57) Then he closes the thought: “No long story needed.” (11:59)

The reason is useful for the listener too. It tells them that the hour is the problem, not the meeting and not the person. A reason that is longer than the request starts to sound like a defence. Compare these two:

Monday works, but can we do it at eleven instead? I have a call at ten.

Monday works, but I have a call at ten, and the call is about the Brown project, which is late, so my manager asked me to be on it, and I don’t know how long it will take…

The first one takes about six seconds to say, and the other person can answer it at once.

When you need three seconds before you answer

Sometimes you do not know yet which hour is free. In the episode, the person who is asked for a meeting says: “Let me check my calendar. One second.” (11:12) The other person answers: “Sure, take your time.” (11:15) Paul says the line gives you a few seconds to think, and Emily adds that this is “useful when your brain is still translating.” (11:27)

Use it before the formula, not instead of it. Let me check my calendar. buys the time, and then you say Monday works, but… when you know.

Softer versions and a different day

The formula has two relatives. Emily offers the first one: “You can also say, Could we make it eleven instead?” (12:53) She says it is a little softer, with the same idea. Could we make it eleven instead? is a good version for a client or a senior colleague.

The second one is for the day when the whole day is wrong. The episode says: “Monday is busy for me. Does Tuesday work for you?” (12:59) Here you do not keep Monday, so you say so in plain words, and you give the choice back with a question. Emily likes this one because “It gives the choice back to the other person.” (13:04)

Here is a short chat that uses all three moves. It is written for this page.

Dana: Can we meet next Wednesday at 9:30 to look at the budget?
You: Let me check my calendar. One second.
Dana: Sure.
You: Wednesday is busy for me. Does Thursday work for you?
Dana: Thursday is fine, but I can’t before ten.
You: Thursday works, but could we make it ten thirty instead? I have a call at ten.
Dana: Ten thirty is perfect. I’ll move the invite.

Notice that in the middle of the chat both people use the same shape. Dana keeps Thursday and moves the hour, and so do you.

How to confirm the new time

The episode ends the scene with a short reply from the person who changed the invite: “Eleven is perfect. I’ll move it.” (11:43) And then the first person says Thanks. See you on Monday. (11:45)

That is enough for a quick chat. If you write to a client or if the meeting is important, add one sentence that repeats the new time in full. The line below is written for this page.

So, Monday at eleven. Thanks for moving it.

The sentence is short, but it is the last check. Many missed meetings are not caused by a wrong time. They are caused by two people who each think the other one has updated the invite.

Three worries about asking for a new time

Is it rude to ask for a new time? No. The episode makes a point of the opposite: the rude thing is the closed door. People move meetings all the time, and a clear, short request is easy to answer.

What if I do not have an alternative hour? Then say that, and give the choice back, as in the Tuesday question. Monday is busy for me. Does Tuesday work for you? does not need you to name the new time.

Can I use this in an email? Yes. The wording is the same in writing. For a more formal message, use the softer version: Thank you for the invitation. Monday works, but could we make it eleven instead?

Fix five replies

Rewrite each reply so that the other person has a next step. The answers are below.

1. The invitation says Wednesday at 2:00. You can do Wednesday but not 2:00. You write: OK.
2. A colleague asks for Friday at 9:00. You write: I can’t Friday nine.
3. A client asks for Tuesday at 3:00. You have a meeting at three. You write a long apology and no new time.
4. Your manager asks for Monday at 10:00. Monday is full all day. You write: No.
5. You need a moment. You answer: Hmm.

Sample answers (written for this page)

1. Wednesday works, but can we do it at three instead? I have a call at two.
2. Friday works, but can we do it at ten instead?
3. Tuesday works, but could we make it four instead? I have a meeting at three.
4. Monday is busy for me. Does Tuesday work for you?
5. Let me check my calendar. One second.

Build your own sentence

Choose a real meeting from your week. Write the four parts:

1. The piece that fits: ___ works,
2. The turn and the new piece: but can we do it at ___
3. The closing word: instead?
4. A short reason (six words or fewer): I have ___.

Then say the sentence out loud three times, once slowly and twice at a normal speed. Say it once to a friend or write it in your next message.

A model answer (written for this page)

Thursday works, but can we do it at two instead? I have a dentist appointment at noon.

Hear it in a real conversation

The dentist story, the puzzle piece and thirty-four other conversations come from a podcast episode for B1-B2 learners that follows one working day. If you want to hear the lines at normal speed, with short pauses where you can say them out loud, read the Show Note: 35 Practical Business English Conversations: One Working Day, from Small Talk to Saying Goodbye.

The whole move in one line

Do not say OK to a time you cannot make, and do not close the door with I can’t Monday ten. Keep the piece that fits, move the piece that does not, give one short reason and confirm the new time. The episode says it in the line that Paul would have liked to know in his first week: “Monday works, but can we do it at eleven instead?” (12:39)