French language Q&A Forum

How do I distinguish between "l'a défini" and "la définit" from speech? Are there any clues to point at the tense used?

Is this 19th century England? Just say "women."

Good trick. Ya got me. Quelqu'un clearly refers to Elle, yet it remains masculine. Really? In real life? They're standing looking at a little girl.

I know the history of 'la tarte Tatin' and that 'tatin', has come to be applied, in cooking circles, to other 'upside down' tarts, but as 'tatin' is an (unofficial) abbreviation for 'tarte Tatin' should it not be une/la tatin ? The only dictionary I have found that references 'tatin' as a noun on its own, Robert en ligne, defines it as feminine.

https://dictionnaire.lerobert.com/definition/tatin

J'ai mangé un septième des pommes   or J'ai mangé le  septième des pommes
which one is true?

One past tense example said "Ma tante est passée par la boulangerie en venant ici", while another said "Nous avons passé une semaine à Madrid l'été dernier." Why is the non reflexive passer being conjugated with etre?

i used avoir envie as it is a wish, a desire. question not say it was a medical necessity which would be avoir besoin de;

that was my understanding of difference between the two, is that not right?

Hi I have two questions regarding the phrase 'on n'est pas secoués dans tous les sens'.  

1.  why is there an 'e' on the end of secoué?  I would have thought that it should be the third person singular of 'on'.

2.  What is the meaning of 'secoué dans tous les sens'?  Does it mean 'shaken about all over the place'?