French Phrase
Ça commence à manquer.
Meaning
The sentence means ‘It’s starting to run out’ or ‘It’s beginning to be lacking.’ It is used when a resource—time, money, food, etc.—is becoming scarce. The tone is usually informal and slightly urgent.
When to use
Use this phrase when you notice a gradual shortage and want to alert someone, e.g., during a meeting about budget, while cooking and the ingredients are low, or when the deadline approaches.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Çacommenceàmanquer
Ça (pronoun)
Informal demonstrative pronoun meaning 'this' or 'that'. It is neutral and commonly used in spoken French.
commencer (verb)
Means 'to begin' and is followed by either 'à' + infinitive (most common) or 'de' + infinitive (more formal).
à (preposition)
Introduces the infinitive verb after 'commencer' in everyday speech.
manquer (verb)
In this construction, it means 'to be lacking' or 'to run out of' rather than the literal 'to miss'.
🗨In Conversation
On a déjà passé trois heures, et le café commence à manquer.
We've already been at it for three hours, and the coffee is starting to run out.
Je vais en préparer une autre tout de suite.
I'll brew another one right away.
✕Common Mistakes
Ça commence de manquer.
‘Commencer de’ is grammatically correct but sounds overly formal; native speakers use ‘commencer à’ in this context.
C'est commence à manquer.
‘C’est’ cannot be followed directly by ‘commence’; use ‘Ça’ or ‘Il’ as the subject.
Ça manque à commencer.
‘Manquer’ does not take ‘à’ after it; the preposition belongs to ‘commencer’. The correct order is ‘commencer à manquer’.
↔Alternatives
Il commence à manquer.
It’s beginning to be lacking.
On commence à être à court.
We’re starting to be short of.
Les réserves diminuent.
The supplies are decreasing.
Cultural Tip
In French, ‘manquer’ with ‘à’ is the idiomatic way to talk about scarcity (e.g., le temps commence à manquer). ‘Ça’ adds a casual, spoken flavor—use ‘Il’ for a more neutral or written style. Be aware that in some regions, especially in formal business contexts, speakers may prefer ‘Il commence à manquer’ or ‘Nous commençons à être à court.’