Nous faisons la queue à l’épicerie depuis une heure.

Yes, faire usually means to do or to make, but in this sentence it is part of the fixed expression faire la queue, which means to stand in line / to queue / to wait in line.

So:

• faire on its own = to do / to make
• faire la queue = to queue / to stand in line

You should learn faire la queue as one whole expression, not translate it word by word.

Because faire la queue is a fixed idiom, and in French the article is part of the expression.

So you normally say:

• faire la queue

not:

• faire queue

This is very common in French. Many expressions require an article even when English would not.

Nous faisons is simply the nous form of the verb faire in the present tense.

Present tense of faire:

• je fais
• tu fais
• il/elle/on fait
• nous faisons
• vous faites
• ils/elles font

A learner may notice that nous faisons and vous faites are a little irregular, so they are worth memorizing.

You could also hear:

• On fait la queue à l’épicerie depuis une heure.

In everyday spoken French, on is often used instead of nous for we.

This is one of the most important differences between French and English.

With depuis + length of time, French usually uses the present tense when the action:

1. started in the past, and
2. is still continuing now.

So:

• Nous faisons la queue depuis une heure.

literally looks like We are queueing since an hour, but the real English meaning is:

• We have been waiting in line for an hour
• We’ve been standing in line for an hour

So whenever you see depuis with an ongoing action, think:
present tense in French, present perfect / present perfect continuous in English.

Depuis une heure means for an hour in the sense of for the past hour up to now.

It shows a duration that began in the past and continues into the present.

Compare:

• depuis une heure = for an hour / for the last hour
• depuis 8 h = since 8 o’clock
• depuis lundi = since Monday

A useful shortcut:

• depuis + starting point → since
• depuis + duration → for

À l’épicerie means at the grocery store, which is the most natural general way to say where the action is happening.

French often uses à with places in this broad sense:

• à l’école = at school
• à la banque = at the bank
• à l’épicerie = at the grocery store

Dans l’épicerie means inside the grocery store, and it puts more emphasis on being physically inside the building.

So:

• à l’épicerie = at the store, in that setting
• dans l’épicerie = inside the store

In this sentence, à l’épicerie is the more natural choice.

Because épicerie begins with a vowel sound, and French normally shortens la to l’ before a vowel.

So:

• la + épicerie → l’épicerie

This is called elision.

Other examples:

• l’école
• l’amie
• l’heure

So à l’épicerie is just à + la épicerie, with the article shortened in the usual way.

Attendre means to wait, in a general sense.

Faire la queue is more specific: it means to wait in a line with other people.

So:

• Nous attendons = We are waiting
• Nous faisons la queue = We are waiting in line

If you use faire la queue, you are giving more information about the situation.

Yes. French word order is flexible enough to allow that.

You can say:

• Nous faisons la queue à l’épicerie depuis une heure.
• Depuis une heure, nous faisons la queue à l’épicerie.

Both are correct.

The first version is a neutral statement.
The second version puts a little more emphasis on the duration, as if you are highlighting for an hour now.

Yes, you could say:

• Nous sommes en train de faire la queue à l’épicerie depuis une heure.

This stresses that the action is happening right now.

But in many cases, it is not necessary. The simple present tense already works well:

• Nous faisons la queue à l’épicerie depuis une heure.

French uses être en train de less often than English uses forms like are waiting. So the original sentence is more natural and more common.

Usually it is close enough to translate it as grocery store, especially for learners.

But depending on context, épicerie can suggest:

• a grocery store
• a small food shop
• a convenience-type food store

So the exact feel can vary a little by region and situation. For learning purposes, grocery store is a good translation.