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Nous faisons les courses le week-end.

Nous faisons les courses le week-end.
We do the shopping on the weekend.
From Lesson 38:The verb to do/make (faire)·French

Breakdown of Nous faisons les courses le week-end.

le week-end
the weekend
faire les courses
to do the shopping

Questions & Answers about Nous faisons les courses le week-end.

Why is the verb 'faire' spelled as faisons here, and how is it pronounced?
Faisons is the nous (we) form of the irregular verb faire (to do/make) in the present tense. Watch out for its pronunciation! Even though it is spelled with an 'ai', the first part sounds like a short 'uh' (like in 'suppose'), so it sounds like 'fuh-ZOHN'.
What does les courses mean, and why is it plural?
The expression faire les courses specifically means 'to go grocery shopping' or 'to run errands'. It is always plural for this meaning. If you used the singular form and said faire la course, it would completely change the meaning to 'to have a race'!
Why is there no French word for 'on' in le week-end?
When talking about things you do regularly on certain days, French does not use a word for 'on'. Instead, simply putting le before a day or the weekend shows that it is a habit. Here, le week-end translates to 'on the weekend' or 'every weekend'.
Can we just use a French verb for 'to shop' instead of using faire?
French relies heavily on the verb faire for activities like this. While you might hear the phrase faire du shopping, that expression is reserved for buying clothes or going to the mall for fun. For groceries and everyday chores, you always use faire les courses.

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