Manquer Present Tense Conjugation in French
The present tense of manquer — “to miss, to lack” — is the form you need for habits, facts and what is happening now. This page gives you the complete present tense table for manquer, how it is formed, when to use it, the mistakes learners make with it, and a quiz to check yourself. The first example shows it in action: “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.
Present Tense conjugation of manquer
Every form in the table below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for manquer. manquer is a regular -er verb, so you can build the present tense from the regular endings once you know the stem.
Present indicative — manquer
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | manque |
| tu | manques |
| il/elle | manque |
| nous | manquons |
| vous | manquez |
| ils/elles | manquent |
The gerund of manquer is en manquant and the past participle is manqué. You need the participle for the perfect tenses and the gerund for constructions with en.
How the present tense of manquer is formed
For a regular -er verb, the present tense is built on the stem manqu- (the infinitive manquer without its -er ending) plus the present tense endings: je → manque, tu → manques, il/elle → manque, nous → manquons, vous → manquez, ils/elles → manquent. So manquer gives manque, manques, manque, manquons, manquez, manquent.
When to use the present tense of manquer
1. Habits and routines
Use the present tense for habits and routines. For example, with manquer: “Je manque mon train ce matin tous les jours.” — “I miss my train this morning.” Notice how the time expression and the context, not just the verb form, tell you which rule applies.
2. General truths and facts
Use the present tense for general truths and facts. For example, with manquer: “Tu manques mon train ce matin en général.” — “You miss my train this morning.” Notice how the time expression and the context, not just the verb form, tell you which rule applies.
3. What is happening right now
Use the present tense for what is happening right now. For example, with manquer: “Il manque mon train ce matin maintenant.” — “He misses my train this morning.” Notice how the time expression and the context, not just the verb form, tell you which rule applies.
4. Scheduled plans and the near future
Use the present tense for scheduled plans and the near future. For example, with manquer: “Nous manquons mon train ce matin demain.” — “We miss my train this morning.” Notice how the time expression and the context, not just the verb form, tell you which rule applies.
5. Narration and instructions
Use the present tense for narration and instructions. For example, with manquer: “Ils manquent mon train ce matin souvent.” — “They miss my train this morning.” Notice how the time expression and the context, not just the verb form, tell you which rule applies.
Present vs future: manquer now, manquer later
The present and the future both talk about things that have not happened yet in one sense, but they are not interchangeable. The present is for what is true now or already fixed; the future is for what will happen and is not yet certain. Compare the pairs below — the present form comes from this page, the future form from the full conjugation table.
Present Tense: “Je manque mon train ce matin tous les jours.” — “I miss my train this morning.”
Future: “Je manquerai mon train ce matin demain.” — “I will miss my train this morning tomorrow.”
Present Tense: “Tu manques mon train ce matin maintenant.” — “You miss my train this morning.”
Future: “Tu manqueras mon train ce matin demain.” — “You will miss my train this morning tomorrow.”
Present Tense: “Nous manquons mon train ce matin en classe.” — “We miss my train this morning.”
Future: “Nous manquerons mon train ce matin demain.” — “We will miss my train this morning tomorrow.”
Example sentences: manquer in the present tense
Six sentences using only the present tense of manquer, with English translations. Read them aloud — saying the forms is the fastest way to fix them in memory.
- “Je manque mon train ce matin tous les jours.” — “I miss my train this morning.”
- “Tu manques mon train ce matin chaque matin.” — “You miss my train this morning.”
- “Il manque mon train ce matin souvent.” — “He misses my train this morning.”
- “Nous manquons mon train ce matin maintenant.” — “We miss my train this morning.”
- “Vous manquez mon train ce matin en général.” — “You miss my train this morning.”
- “Ils manquent mon train ce matin le week-end.” — “They miss my train this morning.”
Common mistakes with manquer in the present tense
Mistake 1: Using the infinitive instead of the present
Wrong: “Je manquer mon train ce matin.”
Right: “Je manque mon train ce matin.”
The infinitive never takes a subject; use the conjugated form manque.
Mistake 2: 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. Each person has its own ending.
Mistake 3: Using the future for a habit
Wrong: “Je manquerai mon train ce matin.” (for something you do every day)
Right: “Je manque mon train ce matin tous les jours.”
A habit takes the present, not the future. The future (manquerai) is for what will happen.
Mistake 4: Using the passé composé for a habit
Wrong: “J'ai manqué mon train ce matin tous les jours.” (for a daily habit)
Right: “Je manque mon train ce matin tous les jours.”
A daily habit takes the present. The passé composé is for finished events.
Quiz: manquer in the present tense
What is the je form of manquer in the Present indicative?
- A) manques
- B) manquent
- C) manquons
- D) manque
What is the tu form of manquer in the Present indicative?
- A) manques
- B) manquons
- C) manque
- D) manquez
What is the il/elle form of manquer in the Present indicative?
- A) manquent
- B) manquez
- C) manquons
- D) manque
What is the nous form of manquer in the Present indicative?
- A) manques
- B) manquons
- C) manquent
- D) manque
What is the vous form of manquer in the Present indicative?
- A) manquez
- B) manques
- C) manque
- D) manquent
What is the ils/elles form of manquer in the Present indicative?
- A) manquez
- B) manquent
- C) manques
- D) manquons
What is the gerund of manquer?
- A) en manquant
- B) manqué
- C) manquerai
- D) manque
What does manquer mean in English?
- A) to go
- B) to have
- C) to be
- D) to miss, to lack
Answer key
- D) manque — the je form of manquer in the present indicative is manque.
- A) manques — the tu form of manquer in the present indicative is manques.
- D) manque — the il/elle form of manquer in the present indicative is manque.
- B) manquons — the nous form of manquer in the present indicative is manquons.
- A) manquez — the vous form of manquer in the present indicative is manquez.
- B) manquent — the ils/elles form of manquer in the present indicative is manquent.
- A) en manquant — the gerund of manquer is en manquant.
- D) to miss, to lack — manquer means “to miss, to lack” in English.
Frequently asked questions
How is the present tense of manquer formed?
From the stem plus the present endings — the full table is at the top of this page. The je form is manque and the ils form is manquent.
When do I use the present tense of manquer?
Use it for habits, facts and things happening now. The five usage rules above, with examples, cover the situations you will meet most often.
What is the difference between the present tense and the future?
The present is for what is true now or happens regularly (manque), while the future is for what will happen (manquerai). The contrast section above shows three pairs side by side.
Where can I see the full conjugation of manquer?
On the full conjugation page for manquer, which has every tense, plus examples and a longer quiz. The examples and quiz page has more sentences in context.
Practice drill
Say the six present tense forms of manquer in order, without looking: manque, manques, manque, manquons, manquez, manquent. Then write three sentences of your own — one about today, one about yesterday, one about tomorrow — using manque, ai manqué and manquerai. Check every form against the table above. When you can produce all six persons without looking, move on to the examples and quiz page.
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.