'run out of something' versus 'run short of something'

'We were lucky we haven't run out of glasses at the party.'


'We were lucky we haven't run short of glasses at the party.'


Is one of the above sentences better (more natural) than the other or are both fine?

Neither sentence is natural. The tenses don't match for a start - 'We were lucky we didn't run out/short. . .'

If you run short of something (you haven't much left) you are close to running out of it (you have none left).

'I'm running out of petrol; I'll have to find a filling station soon.'

'I've run out of petrol; I'll have to call the RAC (a roadside rescue service).'

Rover

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rover_KE

Neither sentence is natural. The tenses don't match for a start - 'We were lucky we didn't run out/short. . .'

If you run short of something (you haven't much left) you are close to running out of it (you have none left).

'I'm running out of petrol; I'll have to find a filling station soon.'

'I've run out of petrol; I'll have to call the RAC (a roadside rescue service).'

Rover

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Thank you.

Indeed I was so taken with the issue short/out that tenses escaped my attention.

I understand your using 'out' instead of 'short' in your example sentence, 'I'm running out of petrol; I'll have to find a filling station soon.' is a slip of the tongue.