Learn French: Ce gisement asiatique est vide, d'où le manque d'émeraudes. - This Asian deposit is empty, hence the lack of emeralds.

Ce gisement asiatique est vide, d'où le manque d'émeraudes.

This Asian deposit is empty, hence the lack of emeralds.

Breakdown of Ce gisement asiatique est vide, d'où le manque d'émeraudes.

être

to be

this (before a noun)

of / from / any (in negative sentences) / about (concerning)

d'où

from where

Questions & Answers about Ce gisement asiatique est vide, d'où le manque d'émeraudes.

Doesn't d'où usually mean "from where"? How does it mean "hence" in this sentence?

You're right that d'où literally means "from where" when talking about physical locations. In this sentence, it's used figuratively to show logical origin or consequence. It introduces the result of the first clause, translating perfectly to "hence" or "which explains".

Is there a missing verb after d'où?

No verb is missing! When used to mean "hence," d'où is directly followed by a noun or noun phrase. Here, it simply connects the situation (Ce gisement asiatique est vide) to its direct consequence (le manque d'émeraudes), without needing an extra verb.

Why is it d'émeraudes instead of des émeraudes if emeralds are plural?

The phrase le manque de (the lack of) acts like an expression of quantity. Just like with beaucoup de or un peu de, the preposition de (or d' before a vowel) doesn't combine with the plural article les. It stays as just de/d' plus the bare noun.

Why isn't asiatique capitalized like "Asian" is in English?

In French, words referring to nationalities, regions, or continents are only capitalized when they are used as nouns to refer to people. When used as adjectives describing a noun, like gisement here, they are always written in lowercase.