Il reste or il manque? What's left and what's missing in French
Il reste means there is some left; il manque means something is missing. Learn both impersonal patterns with stock, time and money examples, then practise.
In short
Il reste + quantity says what is still there: Il reste deux yaourts. Il manque + quantity says what is missing compared with what you need: Il manque deux chaises. Both are impersonal: il means "there", and the verb stays singular.
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il restethere is / are … left
Focus: what remains after use
il reste + (du / des / number) + noun
Il reste du pain ?
Is there any bread left?
Il reste dix minutes.
There are ten minutes left.
il manque… is / are missing
Focus: the gap between what you have and what you need
il manque + number / du / des + noun
Il manque une page.
A page is missing.
Il manque trois euros.
We're three euros short.
What is the difference between il reste and il manque?
Imagine you need twelve chairs for a meeting and you have nine. You can look at it from what you have or from what's missing: Il reste neuf chaises dans la salle (nine chairs are left in the room) / Il manque trois chaises (three chairs are missing). English often says "we're three short", which is exactly il en manque trois.
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Il en reste deux. | There are two left. |
| Il n'en reste plus. | There are none left. |
| Il en manque un. | One is missing. |
| Il me reste vingt euros. | I have twenty euros left. |
| Il me manque une signature. | I'm missing a signature. |
Add an indirect pronoun to say who has something left or missing: il me reste, il te manque, il nous reste. Careful: tu me manques (with a person as subject) means "I miss you". The impersonal il me manque quelque chose only means something is missing for me.
1 · Il reste or il manque?
- Le gâteau était pour huit, nous sommes dix : il deux parts. (missing)
- On a presque tout mangé, mais il un peu de salade. (left)
- Le dossier est incomplet : il votre photo. (missing)
- Dépêche-toi, il ne que cinq minutes ! (left)
- Il me trente euros pour la semaine. (left)
- Dans ce puzzle, il une pièce. (missing)
- Ils restent deux places.Il reste deux places.
Impersonal il: the verb stays singular even with a plural noun.
- Il manque de deux euros.Il manque deux euros.
With a number, no de. (Manquer de means to lack: il manque de patience.)
- Je manque une signature.Il me manque une signature.
"I'm missing" something is il me manque.