Using manquer (de) to say you/something miss or lack in French

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:

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:

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]

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: