Run out of means to use all of something so that you have none left: “We've run out of milk” means we have no milk left. The subject of the sentence is the person who has none left, not the thing itself. The phrase works for supplies, money, time and even patience.
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person + run out of + noun; thing + run out; be running out of + time/money
- We've run out of milk, so I'll buy some on the way home.
- I ran out of time and couldn't finish the last essay question.
- We ran out of money at the end of the trip and lived on noodles for three days.
What changed
First versionWe ran out petrol twenty kilometres from the nearest town.
RevisionWe ran out of petrol twenty kilometres from the nearest town.
To name the thing that is finished, you need “of” after “run out”: “ran out of petrol”. Without “of”, the sentence is wrong.
If you start the sentence with the thing itself, you do not need “of”: The coffee has run out. With “of”, the sentence starts with the person: We've run out of coffee. Both are correct; they are just built differently.
Your turn
Can I borrow your charger? My phone battery has ___.
Show the answer
run out — The sentence starts with the battery itself, and a full stop follows the gap, so you need “run out”: the charge is gone. “Run out of” must be followed by the thing that is finished, and nothing comes after the gap here.
Has something ever run out at the worst possible moment, such as time in an exam, money on a trip or your phone battery? Describe what ran out and what you did next.
I ran out of cash on the last day of my trip, so I paid for the bus with my card.
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