Difference between usage of "Manquer de..." & "Il manque...à..."

Question

Firstly - thanks to the creators of this lesson!

Secondly - I am having trouble understanding the distinction between the usage of "Manquer de..." and the impersonal "Il manque...à..."

The lesson describes how the two structures are formed (and gives translations that seem to overlap - e.g. "to lack [something]" VS. [someone/something] is missing (i.e. lacking) something), but doesn't seem to describe how exactly they are used differently from each other.

Thus, I'm wondering if someone can explain in what scenarios "Manquer de" must be used and not "Il manque...à..." (and vice versa), and describe if there are any situations in which both can be used.

(For an example of what I mean, can one say both "Il manque un bouton à ta chemise" (given in the lesson) and "Ta chemise manque d'un bouton" ? Why or why not? Etc.)

Thanks in advance!

Accepted Answer

Hi Avery,
The verb 'manquer' like 'plaire' have difficult constructions for learners of French.
Manquer de = to be short of something/ to lack something
Je manque de temps = I am short of time
Il manque d'argent = He is short of money
Nous manquons d'informations sur eux = We are lacking info on them
In the case of the impersonal
 'Il manque quelque chose à quelqu'un/quelque chose'-
Il manque une chaise à  table = We are short of a chair for the table/ we are missing a chair 
Il manque une ceinture à ce pantalon = This pair of trousers doesn't have a belt ( it is missing a belt)
Not to be confused with to miss someone:
e.g. 
Il me manque = I am missing him 
Elle me manque = I am missing her 
Paris me manque beaucoup = I miss Paris very much 
Les enfants nous manquent = We miss the children

Answer

https://www.cnrtl.fr/definition/manquerTry this link  --  you will not be disappointed.Alan (Jim)