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Nous faisons les courses après le boulot.

Nous faisons les courses après le boulot.
We do the shopping after work.
FromLesson 26inHardcore French

Breakdown of Nous faisons les courses après le boulot.

nous
we
après
after
le boulot
the work
faire les courses
to do the shopping

Questions & Answers about Nous faisons les courses après le boulot.

What does the expression faire les courses convey in everyday French?
It means doing the household shopping, typically groceries and basic supplies. It’s a fixed expression. It’s not about recreational shopping; it’s the practical, routine kind.
Why is it les courses (plural) and not singular?
Because it refers to multiple items/errands involved in a typical shopping run. In the singular, une course can mean “an errand,” and la course means “running/a race.” The idiom for groceries is plural: les courses.
What’s the difference between faire les courses and faire des courses?
  • Faire les courses: the regular grocery run for the household.
  • Faire des courses: doing some shopping/errands in a more general or occasional sense (not necessarily groceries only).
Can I say faire du shopping or faire les magasins instead?
  • Faire du shopping and faire les magasins usually mean shopping for clothes, browsing stores, or recreational retail. They’re not the default for groceries.
  • For groceries, stick to faire les courses.
  • Regional note: in Belgium/Switzerland, you may hear faire les commissions for groceries.
Is boulot formal? Should I use travail instead?

Boulot is colloquial (informal). Neutral/formal is travail: après le travail. Even more slang: après le taf. So:

  • Informal: après le boulot
  • Neutral: après le travail
  • Very slang: après le taf
Why is there a le in après le boulot? Could I say just après boulot?
You need the article. After the preposition après, French typically uses a determiner with a noun: après le boulot, après le travail, après mon travail. Bare après boulot sounds ungrammatical in standard French.
Can I move the time phrase to the front?
Yes. Après le boulot, nous faisons les courses. Putting it first adds emphasis to the time frame. Use a comma after the fronted time phrase.
In speech, would people actually use nous or on?
In everyday conversation, on is more common: On fait les courses après le boulot. It still means “we.” Nous is fine but feels more formal/written.
How is faire conjugated in the present? Why nous faisons?

Faire is irregular:

  • je fais
  • tu fais
  • il/elle fait
  • nous faisons
  • vous faites
  • ils/elles font So with nous, the correct form is faisons.
How do you pronounce the whole sentence?

Approximate IPA: /nu fə.zɔ̃ le kuʁs a.pʁɛ lə bu.lo/

  • nous: /nu/
  • faisons: /fə.zɔ̃/ (note the schwa /ə/)
  • Liaison: faisons
    • les → /z/ sound: /fə.zɔ̃ le/
  • courses: /kuʁs/ (the word-final s in course(s) is pronounced [s])
  • après: /a.pʁɛ/ (final s silent)
  • boulot: /bu.lo/ (final t is not pronounced)
Do I ever pronounce the plural -s in les or courses?
  • les: pronounced /le/; its plural -s is silent (except in liaison, which affects the preceding word, e.g., faisons les → /z/).
  • courses: the word course ends with an s sound already (/kuʁs/). The additional plural -s is silent, so singular and plural sound the same.
Could I say Nous allons faire les courses après le boulot?
Yes. That’s the near future (“we are going to do the shopping”). Nous faisons… expresses a habit or a scheduled routine (“we do the shopping…”).
How would I put it in the past?
Use the passé composé: Nous avons fait les courses après le boulot.
How do I make it negative?

Place ne…pas around the verb:

  • Nous ne faisons pas les courses après le boulot. Other options:
  • Nous ne faisons jamais les courses après le boulot. (never) In casual speech, the ne often drops: On fait pas…
Is the les here an article or a pronoun?
It’s the definite article (the). It’s not a direct object pronoun in this sentence.
Could I use après que instead of après?

Use après with a noun: après le boulot. Use après que with a clause: après que j’ai fini le boulot. Traditionally, après que takes the indicative (not the subjunctive): après que je suis arrivé.

Any agreement issues with courses?
Course is feminine. In plural, les courses is feminine plural, so any adjective would agree: les courses hebdomadaires, les courses indispensables, etc.
Are there any other handy variants of the time phrase?

Yes:

  • en sortant du boulot (as we leave work)
  • après le travail
  • après ma journée de travail All are natural, with varying formality.
Could les courses ever mean “the races” (like horse races)?
Yes, in certain contexts (les courses hippiques). In everyday domestic contexts with faire, it means groceries/errands, not races. Context disambiguates.
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