J'ai besoin d'aller faire les courses

Question

There are a couple of examples where it says "aller faire les ...". Is this really needed, or at least natural in French? Would it make a difference to say "Je dois faire les courses", or "J'ai besoin de faire les courses"?

Accepted Answer

Hi Diego,
The expression 'aller faire les courses' is widely used in French for, to go shopping / to do your regular shopping-
Je dois/J'ai besoin de faire les/mes courses = I must go shopping/ do my shopping 
Chris, I think you are thinking of the expression 'avoir envie de' to express want/wish.
To express something you need to do/have to do you would use 'devoir' or 'avoir besoin de faire', or even 'falloir' -
Il faut que je fasse mes courses ce matin= I have to do my shopping this morning
Hope this helps!

Answer

It wouldn't be wrong, really.J'ai besoin de faire les courses. -- I want to shop.J'ai besoin d'aller faire les courses. -- I want to go shopping.