All About Manquer, "To Miss"

The French verb manquer is a regular -ER verb. It means "to miss," but can cause confusion because it is sometimes used in an unusual construction.

To Miss Something

Manquer + direct object means "to miss something," in the sense of not being at/on/in it

   J'ai manqué l'autobus.
   I missed the bus.

   Il va manquer le film.
   He's going to miss the movie.

To Lack

Manquer + de + direct object means "to lack something"

   Vous manquez de patience.
   You lack patience.

   Ce thé manque de lait.
   This tea is lacking (needs) milk.

To Fail​ to Do

Manquer + de + verb means "to fail to do something"

   J'ai manqué de faire mes devoirs.
   I didn't do my homework.

   Ne manque pas de m'écrire !
   Be sure to write to me!
   (Literally, Don't fail to write...)​

To Miss Someone

Manquer + à means "to miss a person, place, or thing,"* as in to feel the lack of it:

   David manque à moi. > David me manque.
   I miss David.

   Tu manques à moi. > Tu me manques.
   I miss you.

*This is the confusing construction, because it means that in French, the person missed is the subject of the sentence, whereas in English, the person missed is the object. The French construction literally says "A is missing to Z," where in English we say "Z misses A." If you can remember to think about the literal meaning of the French construction, you should be all right.