The verb manquer is often troublesome for English speakers of French because its structure varies whether it applies to missing [something] emotionally - reversed structure - or missing [something] practically - see structures below.
Learn how to use manquer (de) in French
Manquer [quelque chose] = to miss [something], to fail to attend/catch
To express missing as in failing to attend or catch something (e.g., an event, a train ...), you use:
manquer + [event/means of transport/place...]
In French, you can also use the verb rater in this specific context, though it's a bit more familiar than manquer.
Manquer de [quelque chose] = to lack [something]
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.
Il manque [quelque chose] à [quelqu'un/quelque chose] = [Someone/something] is missing (i.e. lacking) [something]
To say that someone or something is missing/lacking something, you also use the impersonal structure: Il manque quelque chose à [quelqu'un/quelque chose], literally "It's missing [something] to [someone/something]", as follows:
This impersonal structure can also be used without mentioning the person/thing lacking, expressing in a more general way that something/someone is missing/lacking, as follows:
You cannot use manquer in any of the above ways to express missing a person (or thing) emotionally.
See Using manquer (à) to say you miss someone or something emotionally in French
See Using manquer (à) to say you miss someone or something emotionally in French
Want to make sure your French sounds confident? We’ll map your knowledge and give you free lessons to focus on your gaps and mistakes. Start your Brainmap today »
