 Big Mistakes In English Using Lack Correctly This video deals with a common problem students have in speaking English. Usage Of The Word Lack We will explain how people are using the word incorrectly and how to fix the mistake. The word lack means that something is missing or needed. It focuses on the negative rather than the positive. Lack can be used as a verb or a noun. For example, verb usage. Carolyn lacks integrity. Noun usage. Lack of integrity is her biggest flaw. When possible, use lack as a verb to avoid wordiness. Let's learn a little bit more about this. Which of the following is correct? I am in lack of sleep. I am lack of sleep. I lack of sleep. I lack sleep. The best answer is, I lack sleep. Subject verb object. Lack is a simple verb. It does not require any other words to accompany it. Collocations with the verb lack are wordy and unnecessary. Don't add anything to it. Note the usage in the following sentences. The soup lacks salt. We lack essential funding. Mr. Doop lacks common sense. Meaning, the soup needs a little salt. We need to get some funding. Mr. Doop could use some common sense. Lack as a noun. Once in a while, you will see the word lack used as a noun. In such cases, it is sometimes surrounded by the words, there is a, of. Notice that lack is singular here. There is a lack of diversity in the workforce. This is common noun usage. The workforce lacks diversity. This is preferable. It's less wordy. Mr. Bland exhibited a lack of good taste. This is okay. Let's learn a little bit more about this. Sometimes we can make lack the subject of a phrase or sentence. In such cases, the word of may follow. There was a lack of clarity in the mayor's speech. His lack of clarity was a big problem. That's better. Lack of planning was the main reason the workshop failed. Notice how lack is used at the beginning of the sentence here. Exercise. Which of the following are correct? Decide whether these sentences are okay or not okay. Feel free to pause the video if you'd like more time for this exercise. Ready for the answers? Here they are. Number one, Jerry lacks the patience to be a manager. Okay. Two, Gary is lack credibility. Not okay. It should be Gary lacks credibility. Barry is in lack of charisma. Not okay. It should be Barry lacks charisma. Four, Sherry lacks social skills. Okay. Five, Perry lacks knowledge and experience. Okay. Six, Kerry is lack of self-discipline. Not okay. It should be Kerry lacks self-discipline. Terry lacks of confidence. Not okay. It should be Terry lacks confidence. They all lack credentials. Okay. Lack of good help was a big problem. Okay. Hope that was helpful. More importantly, I hope you won't be making these types of mistakes in English again. Thanks for watching. To see more information on this topic, check out the website and pages in the description below. Commonly misused words, lack. Have a question? Please submit your English question to the link below and we will do our best to answer it. We might even make a video just for you. This video was brought to you by the following English learning websites, eslgold.com and freeenglishstudy.com.