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Je fais les courses l’après-midi.

Je fais les courses l’après-midi.
I do the shopping in the afternoon.
FromLesson 28inHardcore French

Breakdown of Je fais les courses l’après-midi.

je
I
faire les courses
to do the shopping
l'après-midi
the afternoon

Questions & Answers about Je fais les courses l’après-midi.

What does the expression faire les courses mean, exactly?
It’s an idiomatic phrase meaning “to do the grocery shopping” or more broadly “to run errands.” It does not refer to races or school courses.
Why is it les courses and not des courses?

Both are possible, but they nuance the idea:

  • faire les courses = the regular/known groceries for the household (very common set phrase).
  • faire des courses = doing some shopping/errands (unspecified quantity or items). You’ll also hear faire mes courses to emphasize “my own shopping.”
Why use faire instead of verbs like acheter or aller?
  • faire les courses is the idiomatic collocation for “do the shopping.”
  • acheter focuses on the act of buying specific items.
  • aller faire les courses adds the idea of going somewhere to do it (often for near future: “I’m going to go do the shopping”).
Does courses have anything to do with “courses/classes” or “races”?

No here. Beware:

  • un cours (no “e”) = a class/lesson.
  • une course (with “e”) = a race OR an errand.
  • faire des/les courses = to run errands/do the shopping.
  • faire la course = to race (compete by running, etc.).
Is the sentence describing a habit, or what I’m doing right now?
With time words like l’après-midi, the present tense usually expresses a habit: “I (usually) do the shopping in the afternoon.” For right-now, context or an adverb like en ce moment would clarify.
Can I say Je fais les courses dans l’après-midi or en après-midi?
  • l’après-midi alone often implies a habitual time.
  • dans l’après-midi usually refers to sometime this/that afternoon (more specific).
  • en après-midi is common in Canadian French, but not in France.
  • Avoid à l’après-midi for time; it’s not idiomatic.
Why is there l’ before après-midi?
It’s the singular definite article (le/la) contracted to l’ before a vowel. French uses the definite article with parts of the day for general timing: le matin, l’après-midi, le soir, la nuit.
Is après-midi masculine or feminine?

Both exist; masculine is more common. Because it starts with a vowel, you’ll use forms like:

  • Demonstrative: cet après-midi (most common) or sometimes cette après-midi.
  • Article here: l’après-midi (gender isn’t visible after elision).
How do you make the plural of après-midi?
Both spellings are accepted: les après-midi or les après-midis. You’ll also see: tous les après-midis = every afternoon.
Can I put the time at the beginning: L’après-midi, je fais les courses?
Yes. Time expressions can go first for emphasis or flow. Both orders are natural.
Pronunciation tips for the sentence?
  • Je fais = /ʒə fɛ/ (the final s in fais is silent).
  • les courses = /le kuʁs/ (the s in course is pronounced; the plural -s is silent).
  • l’après-midi = /lapʁɛ midi/ (the s in après is silent; hyphen doesn’t affect pronunciation). No liaison between les and courses.
Can I say Je fais du shopping l’après-midi?
That usually means browsing/buying non-essentials (clothes, gifts, etc.). For groceries/errands, prefer faire les courses. Another option is aller au supermarché.
How do I say “this afternoon I’m doing the shopping”?

Cet après-midi, je fais les courses.
If you want a near-future feel: Cet après-midi, je vais faire les courses.

How do I say “I do the shopping every afternoon”?
  • Tous les après-midis, je fais les courses.
  • Chaque après-midi, je fais les courses. Using just l’après-midi already suggests a habit, but these make “every” explicit.
Are there regional alternatives to faire les courses?

Yes:

  • Belgium/Switzerland: faire des commissions.
  • Quebec: faire l’épicerie, magasiner (to shop, generally). In France, faire les courses is the default for groceries/errands.
Could I say Je m’offre les courses or Je m’en fais les courses?
No. The verb isn’t reflexive here. Use faire les courses, optionally with aller: Je vais faire les courses.
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“How does grammatical gender work in French?”
Every French noun is either masculine or feminine, and this affects the articles and adjectives used with it. "Le" is used with masculine nouns and "la" with feminine ones. Adjectives also change form to match — for example, "petit" (masc.) becomes "petite" (fem.).

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