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Quando il magazzino è vuoto, ci mancano i prodotti.

Quando il magazzino è vuoto, ci mancano i prodotti.
When the warehouse is empty, we lack products.
From Lesson 385:Verbs of necessity and lack (mancare, servire, bastare)·Italian

Questions & Answers about Quando il magazzino è vuoto, ci mancano i prodotti.

Why is the verb mancano in the plural when the English translation says we lack?
This is because mancare works backwards compared to English, much like the verb piacere. In Italian, you do not lack a product; rather, a product is lacking to you. Here, i prodotti is the grammatical subject. Since it is plural, the verb must be plural: mancano.
If i prodotti is the subject, how do we express the we part of we lack products?
We use the indirect object pronoun ci (to us). The literal translation of ci mancano i prodotti is the products are lacking to us.
Why is there a definite article before prodotti (i prodotti) when English just says products?
Because i prodotti is the grammatical subject of the sentence. In Italian, subjects almost always require a definite article, even when speaking about a broad category of things in a general sense.
Is magazzino a false friend? It looks a lot like magazine.
Yes, it is! magazzino means warehouse, storehouse, or storage room. If you want to talk about a magazine you read, you would use the word rivista.

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