De or no de?

David P.A2Kwiziq community member

I’m confused. The lesson states:

“To express lacking [something], you use:

manquer de or d' + [thing]

As you're literally saying I lack of [something], you never use partitive articles (du, de l', de la, des) here; i.e., Je manque du sucre.”

So why not “Je manque de sucre?” The answer directly contradicts the Green highlighted guidance.

Asked 3 weeks ago

CécileKwiziq Native French TeacherCorrect answer

I am not sure if I understand your question correctly, David, but 'de' isn't a partitive but a preposition and

Je manque de sucre ( and not 'Je manque du sucre') is the correct answer.

Like12 weeks ago

I’m confused. The lesson states:

“To express lacking [something], you use:

manquer de or d' + [thing]

As you're literally saying I lack of [something], you never use partitive articles (du, de l', de la, des) here; i.e., Je manque du sucre.”

So why not “Je manque de sucre?” The answer directly contradicts the Green highlighted guidance.

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