Do the shopping means to buy groceries and other things the household needs. It's usually a regular chore, like cooking or cleaning. In British English, the shopping can also mean the items themselves: Can you help me carry the shopping?
Want to remember do the shopping?
Write a sentence — we'll show the mistakes right away and suggest how to say it more naturally.
The check is taking longer than usual. Your feedback will appear here automatically.
do the shopping; do the weekly shopping; did (past)
- My husband does the shopping on his way home from work.
- We do the shopping together every Friday to avoid the weekend crowds.
- I forgot to do the shopping, so the fridge is completely empty.
What changed
First versionI usually make the shopping on Saturday mornings.
RevisionI usually do the shopping on Saturday mornings.
Make can seem like the natural verb for describing this kind of task, but shopping goes with do, just like homework and housework. Make the shopping isn't said in English.
Do the shopping is the necessary weekly task, like buying groceries: I'll do the shopping after work. Go shopping usually describes a more leisurely trip to the shops: Let's go shopping for shoes on Saturday.
Your turn
On Saturdays my dad usually ___ while my mum cooks lunch.
Show the answer
does the shopping — Dad buys the groceries on Saturdays while Mum cooks — a household chore, so does the shopping fits. Makes the shopping is a mistake: make doesn't go with shopping.
Say who in your family usually buys the groceries and how often it happens.
My partner does the shopping every Thursday evening after work, and I cook the meals.
Learn to use new words without mistakes
Write phrases with the words you are learning. LetsWords shows mistakes in usage and grammar, suggests corrections and explains them, and review helps the words stick.