In this lesson one of the questions was "Marie a manqué l'école ". I would have answered this with "Marie (has) missed school." Of course this answer wasn't available and the right answer was "Marie didn't go to school." Wouldn't this be easier to understand if written like " Marie n'est pas alleé à école ?" or are all similar events ( not going/doing somewhere/something) expressed by "Manquer de ?" Thanks, Heather.
The verb manquer is often very troublesome for English speakers of French because its structure is reversed when it applies to emotions compared to events.
Look at these sentences with the verb manquer in a pragmatic sense:
Note that to say you missed a train or school, it's very straightforward.
ATTENTION:
To express lacking [something], you will use manquer de or d' + [thing].
You do not need to use the partitive articles (du, de l', de la, des) here, just as you wouldn't say I lack the sugar but simply I lack sugar:
Je manque de sucre pour faire ce gâteau.
I lack sugar to make that cake.
Je manque d'argent pour payer mes factures
I don't have enough money to pay my bills
When manquer de is used with rien (I lack nothing), you need to add the negation ne in front of the verb.
ATTENTION:
You cannot use manquer this way to miss a person (or thing) emotionally.
See Manquer (à) = To miss someone/something emotionally
See Manquer (à) = To miss someone/something emotionally
Learn more about these related French grammar topics
Examples and resources
Je ne manque rien.
I don't miss anything.
Je ne manque de rien.
I lack nothing.
Il manque toujours de courage.
He always lacks courage.
Je manque de sucre pour faire ce gâteau.
I lack sugar to make that cake.
to lack something
Je manque d'argent pour payer mes factures
I don't have enough money to pay my bills
to miss an event
Jacques a manqué son train
Jacques missed his train
J'ai manqué l'école
I missed school
Q&A Forum 14 questions, 37 answers
Heather asked:View original
To miss something
In this lesson one of the questions was "Marie a manqué l'école ". I would have answered this with "Marie (has) missed school." Of course this answer wasn't available and the right answer was "Marie didn't go to school." Wouldn't this be easier to understand if written like " Marie n'est pas alleé à école ?" or are all similar events ( not going/doing somewhere/something) expressed by "Manquer de ?" Thanks, Heather.
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Why LE instead of DE in Manquer de
The correct answer is posted as “
J'ai manqué le concert de Michael Jackson en 1992 à Paris.” But the lesson says you don’t need partitive pronoun when meaning lack/missing something but you need DE. So why is it “J’ai manqué le concert’ not “J’ai manqué de concert”? Thanks.
Asked 3 months ago
Jinn asked:View original
Why LE instead of DE in Manquer de
The correct answer is posted as “
J'ai manqué le concert de Michael Jackson en 1992 à Paris.” But the lesson says you don’t need partitive pronoun when meaning lack/missing something but you need DE. So why is it “J’ai manqué le concert’ not “J’ai manqué de concert”? Thanks.
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Is "J'ai manqué vous"=I missed you correct in the sense that there was a scheduled event of meeting a person at time X but I (je) missed the meeting?
Asked 4 months ago
Bonjour John !
I'm here to answer the French question :)
Here the mistake is related to the position of your direct object pronoun "vous", which in the case of a compound tense like Le Passé Composé, will be just before the auxiliary, as such:
Je vous ai manqué.
I hope that's helpful!
Bonne journée !
Also: I am new to the Discussion forum. How do I find my questions? I've posed 2-3 questions but cannot remember where I put them. There doesn't appear to be an option for finding one's own questions under the Dashboard or other menu options.
SimonKwiziq language super star
Hi John,
sorry for the slow response on this we're actually in the middle of updating the whole Q&A section to make this very thing a little more obvious.
For the moment the simplest way to see your list of Questions and Answers is to navigate to your account page (use the account menu drop down on the top right of the page or go to /account directly.
From there you will see your display options:
Profile visible (View)
Achievements visible (View)
You can click on the "View" link next to your profile, on the bottom of this you will see your list of Questions and Answers. Stay tuned as we do have a fairly major revamp coming up which will make this and many other things easier.
Simon: Thanks much. Approximately when will the website update happen?
Also, will somebody be answering my specific question about French grammar?
Dear Aurélie:
Thank you. However, it's now clear if you understood my question.
I do not want "Je vous ai manqué" to mean "I missed you" in some emotional sense.
The meaning I want is "I missed you" in the sense that I missed an appointment with a person. We can say this in English, as in "I missed you (=meeting you) in front of the movie theatre because I had a flat tire." That appointment represents an event, for which the grammar lesson "Manquer (de) + thing = To miss / lack something" I think can apply. Hence my original inquiry, which I suspect is grammatically incorrect, but I hope you get the idea of what I am actually asking.
Correction: "However, it's not clear if you . . ."
I hope there's a message edit option in the upcoming website redesign.
AurélieKwiziq language super star
Sorry about that John, but you were correct here :)
Je vous ai manqué. can either mean:
You missed me (in an emotional sense) or
I missed you (at the meeting ...)
Hope that helps!
SimonKwiziq language super star
@John "I hope there's a message edit option in the upcoming website redesign." - yes, there is!
Sorry to have to say this but I am getting annoying duplicate email notifications from you (Simon) and Aurélie notifying me of your replies to my Discussion board questions. I believe that Simon's first reply under this thread was accompanied by a single email notification but everything after that has had duplicate notifications.
I hope you can make this stop.
SimonKwiziq language super star
Hi John,
I've just investigated this and just to clarify this was actually not a duplicate email for the same issue under the hood as far as I can tell, it was caused by two answers being submitted in close proximity then both of them being updated just for better clarity. The result was the same for you in that it appeared to be a duplicate, we have tweaked this now to avoid this perception and yes in the new update on Q&A we'll be looking at this specifically to see if we can capture better summaries, in the unusual case when multiple users submit answers within minutes of each other (and then edit them).
Please contact our helpdesk via the "contact us" on the site form if you have any other technical issues we will certainly look into them immediately, it just allows us to track things more effectively and keep the learning Q&A separate.
Best wishes
John asked:View original
Is "J'ai manqué vous"=I missed you correct in the sense that there was a scheduled event of meeting a person at time X but I (je) missed the meeting?
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Minor english correction
Hi,
This sentence on this page, "You do not need use the partitive articles" is missing the word "to" between the "need" and "use".
Just figured since you are helping me with my french, I'd help you with the english :)
Asked 6 months ago
Bonjour Rant !
And rightly so :) This typo has now been rectified.
Merci beaucoup et bonne journée !
Rant asked:View original
Minor english correction
Hi,
This sentence on this page, "You do not need use the partitive articles" is missing the word "to" between the "need" and "use".
Just figured since you are helping me with my french, I'd help you with the english :)
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To miss doing something
I write a daily journal in French and was just trying to write that I miss doing something. I cannot decide whether that has to be manquer à or manquer de. I have been lacking the time to do it, which makes me think manquer de. But I have been missing doing the activity in an emotional sense. I really wish that I could do it just as I really wish that it weren't winter or that I could go back to a certain place.
Can someone help me out and tell me which one to use? Manquer à and de is one of those things I haven't fully mastered when I was A2, I'm afraid.
Asked 7 months ago
Tom manque à Marie. -- Marie misses Tom.Tom manque de sucre. -- Tom lacks sugar.
So manquer à quelqu'un = missing (usually of one person by another) while manquer de means lacking of something.
So the trick is, if it's a thing that is missing and I cannot replace "missing" with "lacking", it's manquer à?
Michelle asked:View original
To miss doing something
I write a daily journal in French and was just trying to write that I miss doing something. I cannot decide whether that has to be manquer à or manquer de. I have been lacking the time to do it, which makes me think manquer de. But I have been missing doing the activity in an emotional sense. I really wish that I could do it just as I really wish that it weren't winter or that I could go back to a certain place.
Can someone help me out and tell me which one to use? Manquer à and de is one of those things I haven't fully mastered when I was A2, I'm afraid.
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What is the difference between manquer and rater?
If I wanted to use the examples above about a train or a concert, what would the difference be for the two verbs? Can I use both or is one wrong? If not, what is the change in meaning?
Asked 10 months ago
Hi Serian,
The verbs 'manquer' or 'rater' can both be used for 'to miss a concert or a train' , 'rater' being less formal than 'manquer'.
You would use 'rater' only for to fail an exam e.g.
J 'ai raté mon permis de conduire/ mon bac = I failed my driving test/my baccalaurate
or even -
J'ai raté ma vie = I made a real hash of my life
There is another informal way to say to miss in French which you might have heard - 'louper' :
J'ai loupé le premier épisode de cette série = I missed the first episode of this series.
Hope this helps!
Serian asked:View original
What is the difference between manquer and rater?
If I wanted to use the examples above about a train or a concert, what would the difference be for the two verbs? Can I use both or is one wrong? If not, what is the change in meaning?
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Manquer de + human attrbute ? To lack a human attrubute ?
I think what I'm about to ask is not possible with manquer de + thing, and I would like to confirm I am correct. Am I correct it is NOT possible to use manquer de + human attribute ?
Examples
I lack your warmth (in the emotional sense). Je manque de ton chaleur.
I lack your humour. Je manque de ton humour.
I have been told this doesn't really work in French, and I would be better off using avoir.
e.g Je n'ai pas ton chaleur. Je n'ai pas ton humour.
Any comments appreciated.
Paul.
Asked 11 months ago
Hi Paul,
You can use manquer de with a human attribute as in the lesson example,
'Il manque toujours de courage.'
You could say:
"Il/je manque d'humilité , de chaleur, d'humour" about someone else or about yourself.
In the sense of to lack meaning to be without you would indeed use,
'ne pas avoir'
Cette voiture n'a pas la puissance de celle-là. = This car lacks the power of that one.
Le nouvel employé n'a pas les compétences de la personne quil remplace. = The new employee lacks the skills of the person he is replacing.
Je n'ai pas les moyens d'aller en vacances cette année. = I haven't got / I lack the means to go on holiday, this year.
Hope this helps!
Paul asked:View original
Manquer de + human attrbute ? To lack a human attrubute ?
I think what I'm about to ask is not possible with manquer de + thing, and I would like to confirm I am correct. Am I correct it is NOT possible to use manquer de + human attribute ?
Examples
I lack your warmth (in the emotional sense). Je manque de ton chaleur.
I lack your humour. Je manque de ton humour.
I have been told this doesn't really work in French, and I would be better off using avoir.
e.g Je n'ai pas ton chaleur. Je n'ai pas ton humour.
Any comments appreciated.
Paul.
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Je manque de concert . . .
The test says that "I missed the concert of . . " is ''J'ai manqué du concert . ." . In the lesson it says '''I missed the train'' is ''J'ai manqué le train'''. What is the difference between ''concert'''and ''train''? Why is one noun preceeded by '''de'' and the other not? Thx
Asked 1 year ago
I have now checked and the correct answer is correctly marked as:
J'ai manqué le concert de Michael Jackson en 1992 à Paris.
Hope this helps!
This is indeed extremely tricky!
The example of "J'ai manqué le train" is a form of transitive usage of the verb ie. the verb taking a direct object "le train".
The example "J'ai manqué de le concert ..." is more difficult to explain -- it looks like a transitive usage indirect in the sense of "being deprived of." So without knowledge of the full sentence, it seems to me that the meaning is that something has caused the subject "j" to be "deprived of" the particular concert rather than a general sense of a concert.
That's my input, but I think that it would be nice to see a further comment from an expert.
Good luck,
Jim
CécileKwiziq language super star
Hi both,
This sounds like a typo error to me ,
I missed the concert of , should be,
j'ai manqué le concert de...
Will pass on your comments and try to get it rectified.
William asked:View original
Je manque de concert . . .
The test says that "I missed the concert of . . " is ''J'ai manqué du concert . ." . In the lesson it says '''I missed the train'' is ''J'ai manqué le train'''. What is the difference between ''concert'''and ''train''? Why is one noun preceeded by '''de'' and the other not? Thx
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"I do not have any money money left"
Is the same as"I do not have any more money" so why put both these answers to the same question, because they are both right in English.
Asked 1 year ago
ChrisCorrect answer
I agree, the two English sentences you cite carry the same meaning in English. I would expect that they both be counted as correct. Did you find something different?
-- Chris.
-- Chris.
Stephen asked:View original
"I do not have any money money left"
Is the same as"I do not have any more money" so why put both these answers to the same question, because they are both right in English.
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Bonjour Siner,
I noticed both of your posts; however, I am unable to understand your question.
manquer(de) conjugates like any other -er verb. The peculiar with this verb is this:
If I want to say «I miss you» in French it becomes ---> «Tu me manques». As can be seen, manquer conjugates as expected even in the plural:
«we missed you» ---> «tu nous manques» or «vous nous manquez»
Thank you and sorry for not being clear.
My question was about the form of ; je manque le spectacle or je manque de sucre...
Because on the lesson all the examples are in singulier form so I was wondering if it is a form a kind of " Il faut " just in one way. (Sorry English is not my mother langue as well so it is a bit hard to explain for me.)
in the form of "we miss you" we conjugate the verb for "you " vous nous manquez " so that's why I was a little bit lost but now I can see that we should consider it as a normal way of the conjugation as" nous manquons d'argent ."
I hope I can explain my self better this time but anyway I think I found the answer by trying to explain my question ;)
Bonjour Siner,
si tu veux dire "I miss my pens" you would translate this as "je manque de mes stylos". Comme tu peux voire, le principe reste le même dans le pluriel.
J'espère d'avoir pu t'aider.
-- Chris. (Attention, le français n'est pas ma langue maternelle.)
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Bonjour Siner,
I noticed both of your posts; however, I am unable to understand your question.
manquer(de) conjugates like any other -er verb. The peculiar with this verb is this:
If I want to say «I miss you» in French it becomes ---> «Tu me manques». As can be seen, manquer conjugates as expected even in the plural:
«we missed you» ---> «tu nous manques» or «vous nous manquez»
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LauraKwiziq language super star
Bonjour John,
No, you still need the preposition: Je ne manque de rien.
Hmm, so how do I know whether it means "I lack nothing" or "I miss nothing"? How come "I miss the train" doesn't require the preposition "de" but "I miss nothing" does?
LauraKwiziq language super star
Perhaps I misunderstood what you were trying to say. What do you feel is the difference between "I miss nothing" and "I lack nothing"? For me, they're the same thing - I have everything I need in terms of physical objects that you possess.
Missing a train or school is different - you're not physically missing them in the sense that you're unable to hold them in your hands. Rather, you were supposed to be in / on them and weren't - you missed catching / being at them.
Does that make sense?
As a native USA speaker, when I hear “I miss nothing” I understand that to mean “Nothing escapes my notice... I miss no detail... nothing gets by me”. The french phrase “Je ne manque rien” makes sense to me in this context
However “I lack nothing” is very different and means “I have everything I need”. Here I would use “Je ne manque de rien”
Would a french native weigh in on that please?
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Manque de ?
I keep getting this one wrong despite having read the lesson multiple times. What property of X determines whether it's "manque X" or "manque de X"? It says manque de in the lesson, but surely l'école is "something" but does not need "de"?
Asked 3 years ago
LauraKwiziq language super star
Bonjour Joakim,
It's a question of meaning.
When you mean "I miss" something (you missed the train, you missed school, you miss your plane) the noun is abstract and there's no de.
When you mean "I lack" (you lack sugar, you lack money, you lack time), the noun is concrete - you are physically missing the object - you need de.
Ok, that makes sense, thank you. Although in a later exercise it was "manque de patience". Isn't patience also someting abstract?
I think it may not be helpful to think about it in terms of concrete and abstract (and I think the examples Laura gave are not entirely accurate - trains, schools, etc are concrete nouns). Rather, stick with thinking about miss vs lack. If you are saying 'Je manque de patience', you are saying that you lack patience, rather than you missed its arrival.
Bump
I know Laura has posted a reply to this question but tbh I just got more confused after reading that reply - eg why is ‘time’ considered something ‘physically’ lacking?
Joakim asked:View original
Manque de ?
I keep getting this one wrong despite having read the lesson multiple times. What property of X determines whether it's "manque X" or "manque de X"? It says manque de in the lesson, but surely l'école is "something" but does not need "de"?
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Partitive article
In this lesson I'd like to see something about why no article is needed on the thing that is missing. E.g why is
"Je manque du argent pour payers mes factures" wrong?
Asked 3 years ago
AurélieKwiziq language super star
Bonjour Joakim,
We've now added more precision to this lesson as to why you only use de or d' : indeed, "To express lacking <something>, you will use manquer de or d' + thing.
You won't use the partitive articles (du, de l', de la, des) here, just as you wouldn't say "I lack the sugar" but simply "I lack sugar")."
Here is a link to the updated lesson with added examples:
https://progress.lawlessfrench.com/revision/grammar/manquer-de-thing-to-miss-lack-something
Voilà !
Joakim asked:View original
Partitive article
In this lesson I'd like to see something about why no article is needed on the thing that is missing. E.g why is
"Je manque du argent pour payers mes factures" wrong?
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