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We have to determine missing//short amount of raw materials in storage.

We have to determine what amount of different types of raw materials are missing//short?

What is the difference between short and missing in sentences above? Or ıs there any difference between them?

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The two words overlap but they are properly used in different contexts.

If a person has ordered 20 boxes of tiles to tile a floor and finds that they are not sufficient to cover the whole floor, that person is short of one or more boxes. That's to say that more are needed.

If a supplier has an order from a buyer for 20 boxes of goods and only delivers 19 boxes, then there is one box short. That's to say that the delivery is incomplete.

However, if the supplier delivers all 20 boxes and the retailer later finds that there are only 19 boxes where there should be 20, then there is one box missing. That's to say that a box has disappeared.

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  • Thanks but in my sentences which one should I use? I tried to say “ let’s check the storage and determine what amount of product we need to buy .
    – Foreign student
    Commented Jan 26, 2020 at 12:29
  • 2
    I'll amend my answer. If you do not have sufficient materials to do the job, you are short. If you had sufficient materials and some of them have disappeared, they are missing. In your case you are checking to see whether you have sufficient materials for a particular job - whether you will be short of the materials you require.
    – Ronald Sole
    Commented Jan 26, 2020 at 12:34
  • Actually I wanted to say that for example there always must be 1000 kg each of raw materials . But after some of them was sold and amounts were reduced . I try to determine how many kg of product should I buy to stocks keep in quantity of 1000kg .As far as I understand from your answer upon this situation I would say my sentences by using “short”.
    – Foreign student
    Commented Jan 26, 2020 at 12:48
  • Yes, you are determining how many kilos of materials that you are short of (or below) your target amount.
    – Ronald Sole
    Commented Jan 26, 2020 at 13:26
  • 3
    You can be short because something is missing.
    – Barmar
    Commented Jan 27, 2020 at 2:15

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