Son is singular masculine, ses is plural

No, same pronounciation exactly.

tiny = minuscule(s)

son, sa and ses are the possessives common to "il" and "elle".

they agree in gender and number with the possession, not with the owner:

• son enfant = his/her/its child
• sa fille = his/her/its daughter
• ses enfants = his/her/its children

no, it is just masculine by default (we don't know that his children are girls).

his children could be 5 girls and one boy, "enfants" would still be masculine.

Yes, correct.

In this sentence, "petits" can mean "short in size" or "young".

"es" is used with "tu": tu es = you are

"sont" is used with "ils" or "elles" or other plural noun: ils/elles sont, les enfants sont (they are, the children are)

Strictly from context.

Pretty much.

Since adjectives must agree with the nouns they modify, and since the default is masculine, then if the plural is masculine then it's either a mix of masculine and feminine or entirely masculine, and if the plural is feminine then it's entirely feminine.

So "Ses enfants sont petits" could mean all the kids are boys or there's a mix of boys and girls, and "Ses enfents sont petites" means that all of the kids are girls.

it's like in English, you could say "those guys are having fun" to refer to any group of people with both girls and boys.

They can, this version is accepted in translation from English: ses enfants sont petites.

You are correct.

In French, there are two different ways to say "you". There's the singular and informal, which is tu, and there's the plural or formal, which is vous.

Possessive adjective:
my: mon, ma, mes
your (s): ton, ta, tes
his/her/its: son, sa, ses
our: notre, nos
your (pl): votre, vos
their: leur, leurs

Possessive pronoun:
mine: le mien, la mienne, les miens, les miennes
yours (s): le tien, la tienne, les tiens, les tiennes
his/hers: le sien, la sienne, les siens, les siennes
ours: le nôtre, la nôtre, les nôtres, les nôtres
yours (pl): le vôtre, la vôtre, les vôtres, les vôtres
theirs: le leur, la leur, les leurs

There are 2 distinct notions in your question:

Shall I use "vos" or "tes", ie am I speaking to someone I am familiar with or to a person I owe respect to or to 2 or more people?

• Answer: "tes" goes with "tu" (informal "you") and "vos" goes with "vous" 'formal singular or plural "you").

Shall I use "ton, ta or tes" OR "votre, vos"?

• Answer 1: possessives adjectives, like all adjectives, agree in gender and number with the noun they qualify.

• Answer 2: "ton" is masculine singular or feminine singular (if the next word starts with a vowel sound); "ta" is feminine singular and "tes" is plural (any gender). "Votre" is singular (any gender) and "vos" is plural (any gender).

Recap:

• speaking to a friend/family member: "ton chapeau", "ta casquette", "tes chapeaux", "tes casquettes"
• speaking to one person formally or to 2+ people: "votre chapeau", "votre casquette", "vos chapeaux", "vos casquettes".

We (contributors) write down all acceptable translations for all sentences in the course. (Sometimes, we forget some, but then users flag the issue and we fix it. But that's not the point.)

One of these has to be elected as "Best" on various criteria, of which the number 1 is the translation's ability to back translate to the original sentence exactly. Sometimes, 2 translations are Best, and it is the case here with "his/her" that are equally correct.

For this sentence, the alternatives are: [his/her/its] x [children/kids] x [small/little/young/short].

When you make a mistake, the computer suggests the closest version on a letter by letter basis (for instance, if you enter "his child are small", you will be suggested "his children are small").

When your translation is correct, the computer gives you "another correct solution".

When your translation is the Best or one of the Best, the computer just says "you are correct".

For this sentence, "his and her" were elected as Best. This is why you were not reminded of another possible possessive.

"it's" is short for "it is", so it cannot work.

• his/her son= son fils (masc)
• his/her daughter = sa fille (fem)
• his/her children = ses enfants (plural, both masculine and feminine form)

Kids is colloquial and enfants is standard. There might be another word you might translate to kids like les gosses (not sure how you spell it).

French possessives used with nouns are adjectives and behave like other determiners and adjectives: they agree in gender and number with the noun they modify, which is the thing possessed.

• his/her/its son = son fils
• his/her/its daughter = sa fille
• his/her/its children = ses enfants

All adjectives, including possessives, must agree with the noun they're associated with. If it's my table, then the core noun is table, not me.

"kids" is colloquial and "enfants" is not.

Colloquial words for "kids" = les gamins, les mioches, les moutards, les mouflets, les gosses, les mômes...

It all has to do with the noun it's attached to, which is "enfants". Since "enfants" is masculine, you need to use the masculine form of the adjective. Since it's plural, you need to use the plural form of the adjective.

Not without greater context, no. Duolingo is teaching us individual, isolated sentences that are completely out of context. But in real life, there will almost always be context to tell you what you need to know. And if there isn't, there's almost always someone you can ask.

It can even be "its children".

By repeating again and again. If you have managed to memorize your mother tongue, you will memorize another language with time and efforts.

Just back translate your sentence with "c'est" = it is, and you'll see it does not make sense.

Not "it's" but "its", possessive, if the owner is an institution (school for instance).

The difference between small and tiny is a matter of degree. Cats are small. Insects are tiny.

1) SON enfant est petit 2) Correct 3)Correct

You can. both "His children are small" and "Her children are small" are equally valid translations of "Ses enfants sont petits".

No. Generally, consonants at the ends of words are not pronounced unless they're followed by a vowel.

petit/petits ~ puh-tee
petite/petites ~ puh-teet

"Son, sa, ses" are the possessive adjectives matching "il/elle/on" and all three can translate to "his, her, its".

Since they are adjectives, these possessives agree with the noun they modify:

• his/her son = son fils
• his/her daughter = sa fille
• his/her children = ses enfants

You will need "son" for any masculine noun and also when it is followed by a feminine word starting with a vowel sound (to avoid the vowel sound conflict from "sa"):

• sa femme = his wife
• son épouse = his wife
• son adorable femme = his adorable wife

It is called "a liaison" (une liaison):

https://www.duolingo.com/comment/2004908/French-liaisons-between-words

Using "his/her/its" as translations for "son, sa, ses" shows you have understood that in French there is no need for a plural neutral possessive since the French possessive adjectives do not agree with the owner but with the possession. Making the effort of an accurate translation will help you remember to never translate a 3rd person singular possessive to "leur, leurs".

If you are typing your answer, just go with one. The course contributors are not going to input all the various "and/or"s into the database. It's only when you have a multiple choice that you must select all of the valid options presented to you.

In other words, if you are typing in the answer, choose exactly one:
- His children are small.
- Her children are small.

The following answers are not coded for and will be marked wrong:
- His/her children are small.
- Her/his children are small.
- His (her) children are small.
- Her (his) children are small.
- His (or her) children are small.
- Her (or his) children are small.
- ...

"Ses" means the number of things owned is plural, not the owner is plural.
son = his/her singular masculine thing
sa = his/her singular feminine thing
ses = his/her plural things
leur = their singular thing
leurs = their plural things

There is no context to force "His children" vs "Her children" in this sentence. If you're typing in the answer, either one should be accepted. If you're selecting multiple choice, then if both are options, you need to choose both.

There is no logic in language, only convention and tradition. It develops and changes as naturally and as organically as living creatures.

In French and its sister Romance languages, possessives and articles and determiners are treated like any other adjectives and must agree with the noun they work with. Therefore it is always "sa fille" because "fille" is feminine and always "son fils" because "fils" is masculine.

You're accustomed to the conventions and traditions of English because it's your native language, and so you take it all for granted and use it as the yardstick you measure everything else against. But objectively, there is no reason why it "should" be one way or another.

"Ses" and "ces" are homophones, as well as "c'est" and "sais/sait".

You don't, without greater context. "Petits" is masculine plural because "enfants" is masculine plural. It says nothing about whose children they are.

That is also a valid option.