Manquer Examples, Sentences & Quiz in French
manquer — “to miss, to lack” — is one of the verbs you will use every day in French. On this page you will find manquer in real sentences, grouped by meaning and tense, two short dialogues that show it in context, the mistakes learners actually make with it, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself. A first sentence to fix the verb in your memory: “Je manque mon train ce matin.” — “I miss my train this morning.”
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for manquer, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Example sentences with manquer
In the present tense
- “Je manque mon train ce matin tous les jours.” — “I miss my train this morning.”
- “Tu manques mon train ce matin souvent.” — “You miss my train this morning.”
- “Il manque mon train ce matin chaque matin.” — “He misses my train this morning.”
- “Nous manquons mon train ce matin le week-end.” — “We miss my train this morning.”
In the passé composé
- “J'ai manqué mon train ce matin hier.” — “I have missed my train this morning.”
- “Tu as manqué mon train ce matin ce matin.” — “You have missed my train this morning.”
- “Il a manqué mon train ce matin la semaine dernière.” — “He has missed my train this morning.”
In the imperfect and the future
- “Je manquais mon train ce matin quand j’étais jeune.” — “When I was young, I used to miss my train this morning.”
- “Nous manquions mon train ce matin quand j’étais jeune.” — “We used to miss my train this morning.”
- “Tu manqueras mon train ce matin demain.” — “You will miss my train this morning tomorrow.”
- “Ils manqueront mon train ce matin demain.” — “They will miss my train this morning tomorrow.”
In other tenses
- “Je manquerais mon train ce matin si je pouvais.” — “I would miss my train this morning if I could.”
- “Il faut que je manque mon train ce matin.” — “It is important that I miss my train this morning.”
- “Manque mon train ce matin !” — “Miss my train this morning!” The same verb in the pluperfect: “J'avais manqué mon train ce matin avant la fête.” — “I had missed my train this morning before the party.”
All forms above come from the verified tables. The gerund is en manquant and the past participle is manqué; the perfect tenses use avoir + manqué, as in ai manqué.
Manquer in context
Dialogue 1: every day
Marie and Paul talk about what they do every day. Notice how manquer changes with the person, and how the passé composé appears when they talk about yesterday.
Marie: “Tu manques mon train ce matin tous les jours ?” — “You miss my train this morning.” Paul: “Je manque mon train ce matin tous les jours.” — “I miss my train this morning.” Marie: “Tu as manqué mon train ce matin hier ?” — “You have missed my train this morning.” Paul: “J'ai manqué mon train ce matin hier.” — “I have missed my train this morning.” Marie: “Nous manquerons mon train ce matin demain ?” — “We will miss my train this morning tomorrow.” Paul: “Nous manquerons mon train ce matin demain.” — “We will miss my train this morning tomorrow.”
Dialogue 2: making plans
Paul and Marie make plans for the weekend. The conditional appears for polite suggestions, and the imperative for a direct request.
Paul: “Je manquerais mon train ce matin si je pouvais.” — “I would miss my train this morning if I could.” Marie: “Tu manques mon train ce matin souvent ?” — “You miss my train this morning.” Paul: “Je manque mon train ce matin souvent.” — “I miss my train this morning.” Marie: “Manque mon train ce matin !” — “Miss my train this morning!” Paul: “Il faut que je manque mon train ce matin.” — “It is important that I miss my train this morning.” Marie: “Nous avons manqué mon train ce matin hier.” — “We have missed my train this morning.”
Read both dialogues aloud, changing the person each time: manque becomes manques, manques becomes manque, and so on. That is the fastest way to fix the six present forms — manque*, manques, manque, manquons, manquez, *manquent — in memory.
Common mistakes with manquer
Mistake 1: Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
Wrong: “Je manquer mon train ce matin.”
Right: “Je manque mon train ce matin.”
The infinitive manquer never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated present form manque.
Mistake 2: Using the present for a finished past event
Wrong: “Je manque mon train ce matin hier.”
Right: “J'ai manqué mon train ce matin hier.”
A finished event yesterday takes the passé composé (ai manqué), not the present.
Mistake 3: Using être for the passé composé
Wrong: “Je suis manqué mon train ce matin.”
Right: “J'ai manqué mon train ce matin.”
With manquer the passé composé is formed with avoir: ai manqué.
Mistake 4: Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
Wrong: “Il faut que je manque mon train ce matin.”
Right: “Il faut que je manque mon train ce matin.”
After il faut que French needs the subjunctive: manque, not the indicative manque.
Mistake 5: Mixing up the persons
Wrong: “Tu manque mon train ce matin.”
Right: “Tu manques mon train ce matin.”
After tu you need manques, not the je form manque.
Quiz: manquer in everyday use
What is the je form of manquer in the Present indicative?
- A) manques
- B) manquent
- C) manquons
- D) manque
What is the ils/elles form of manquer in the Present indicative?
- A) manques
- B) manquez
- C) manquons
- D) manquent
What is the tu form of manquer in the Present perfect (passé composé)?
- A) a manqué
- B) ai manqué
- C) as manqué
- D) avez manqué
What is the nous form of manquer in the Imperfect?
- A) manquaient
- B) manquiez
- C) manquais
- D) manquions
What is the il/elle form of manquer in the Future?
- A) manquerons
- B) manqueront
- C) manquerez
- D) manquera
What is the je form of manquer in the Conditional?
- A) manquerais
- B) manquerions
- C) manquerait
- D) manqueriez
What is the tu form of manquer in the Present subjunctive?
- A) manquions
- B) manquent
- C) manques
- D) manque
What is the tu form of manquer in the Imperative (affirmative)?
- A) manquons
- B) manque
- C) manquâmes
- D) manquez
What is the past participle of manquer?
- A) en manquant
- B) manquais
- C) manque
- D) manqué
What does manquer mean in English?
- A) to miss, to lack
- B) to have
- C) to be
- D) to go
Answer key
- D) manque — the je form of manquer in the present indicative is manque.
- D) manquent — the ils/elles form of manquer in the present indicative is manquent.
- C) as manqué — the tu form of manquer in the present perfect (passé composé) is as manqué.
- D) manquions — the nous form of manquer in the imperfect is manquions.
- D) manquera — the il/elle form of manquer in the future is manquera.
- A) manquerais — the je form of manquer in the conditional is manquerais.
- C) manques — the tu form of manquer in the present subjunctive is manques.
- B) manque — the tu form of manquer in the imperative (affirmative) is manque.
- D) manqué — the past participle of manquer is manqué; perfect tenses use avoir + manqué.
- A) to miss, to lack — manquer means “to miss, to lack” in English.
Frequently asked questions
What does manquer mean in English?
manquer means “to miss, to lack”. You use it in everyday situations like the examples on this page — for example, “Je manque mon train ce matin.” (“I miss my train this morning.”).
Which auxiliary does manquer take in the passé composé?
manquer takes avoir: ai manqué. Because the auxiliary is avoir, the participle normally stays invariable.
What is the hardest form of manquer to remember?
Most learners struggle with keeping the six persons apart — manque*, manques, manque, manquons, manquez, *manquent. Say them in order every day, and use the dialogues above to practise them in real sentences.
Where can I see the full conjugation of manquer?
On the full conjugation page for manquer, which has every tense, and on the manquer present page, which goes deep on one tense.
Say it yourself
Cover the French sentences above and translate the English back into French. Start with the present tense: “I miss my train this morning.” should become “Je manque mon train ce matin”. Then try the passé composé: “I have missed my train this morning.” should become “J'ai manqué mon train ce matin”. Finally, try the future: “I will miss my train this morning tomorrow.” should become “Je manquerai mon train ce matin”. If you get a form wrong, check it against the full conjugation page and say the correct form aloud three times before moving on.
Related pages
- manquer in the present tense — the full table and uses for this verb in the present tense.
- manquer examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- French present tense guide — how this tense works for regular verbs.
- Rentrer conjugation — another French verb to practise with.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- Verb Conjugator — practise manquer with the interactive tool.
- Verb Quiz — practise manquer with the interactive tool.
- Present Tense Conjugator — practise the present tense with the interactive tool.
- VerbFlow home — back to the start.