Learn Hardcore French: Les parents surveillent leurs enfants dans le parc. - The parents watch their children in the park.

Les parents = the parents (a specific group of parents that we have in mind, probably the children’s own parents).
Des parents = (some) parents, an unspecified group among others.
Bare parents (with no article) is generally wrong in this kind of sentence in French; unlike English, French doesn’t allow a noun like this on its own in normal usage.

Here, les suggests we’re talking about a particular group: the parents of the children mentioned in the sentence.

Why is the verb surveillent and not something like regardent?

Both come from different verbs:

surveiller = to watch over, to keep an eye on, to supervise (there’s an idea of responsibility, protection, making sure nothing bad happens).
regarder = to look at, to watch (purely visual, without necessarily implying responsibility).

So:

Les parents surveillent leurs enfants = The parents are supervising/watching over their children.
Les parents regardent leurs enfants = The parents are looking at their children (they might just be watching them play, without the supervision nuance).

In a park context, surveiller highlights that the parents are making sure the kids are safe and behaving.

What is the subject of the sentence, and how do I know?

The subject is les parents.

You can identify it because:

It appears before the verb in a normal declarative sentence.
The verb surveillent is conjugated in the 3rd person plural to agree with les parents (plural).

So the structure is:
Les parents (subject) surveillent (verb) leurs enfants (direct object) dans le parc (place complement).

Why does surveillent end in -ent, and how is it pronounced?

Surveillent is the 3rd person plural (they) form of surveiller in the present tense:

je surveille
tu surveilles
il/elle/on surveille
ils/elles surveillent

In spelling, the 3rd person plural ends in -ent, but in speech:

The -ent is silent.
surveillent is pronounced the same as surveille (il/elle surveille).

So ils surveillent is pronounced like il surveille; you know it’s plural from the context and the subject les parents / ils.

Why is it leurs enfants and not leur enfants or ses enfants?

French possessive adjectives must agree with:

The number of the possessor(s) (one owner vs several owners), and
The number and gender of the thing owned.

In leurs enfants:

Owners: les parents → plural owners → need leurS (with s).
Thing owned: enfants → plural noun → again, leurs (plural).

So:

leur enfant = their child (one child, several owners)
leurs enfants = their children (several children, several owners)

Ses enfants would mean his or her children (one owner), which does not match the plural subject les parents.

Why don’t we say les leurs enfants or des enfants?

You don’t stack a possessive and the definite article before the same noun in French. You choose one determiner:

leurs enfants = their children
les enfants = the children
des enfants = (some) children

So:

les leurs enfants is incorrect. You must drop either les or leurs.
Here, we want to show possession clearly, so leurs enfants is the right choice, not des enfants.

Is enfants masculine or feminine, and does it include girls as well as boys?

Enfant is grammatically masculine: un enfant, des enfants.

However, in meaning it’s gender-neutral in many contexts:

un enfant can be a boy or a girl; it just means a child.
des enfants (plural) can be all boys, all girls, or a mixed group.

If you specifically want to say “daughters” or “sons”:

filles = daughters
fils = sons

Why is it dans le parc and not au parc?

Both are possible, but they are slightly different:

dans le parc = inside the park, within its boundaries. It focuses on physical inside-ness.
au parc = at the park / going to the park (more general: being there, going there, not stressing the “inside” idea as much).

In practice:

Les parents surveillent leurs enfants dans le parc.
→ Emphasizes that the supervision is happening inside the park.
Les parents sont au parc avec leurs enfants.
→ Just means they are at the park, without focusing on “inside”.

Native speakers do often say au parc in everyday speech; dans le parc sounds a little more precise about location.

Why is it dans le parc and not dans un parc?

Choice of le vs un depends on whether the park is specific or not:

dans le parc = in the park (a park that is known or identifiable in the context).
dans un parc = in a park (any park, not specified which one).

In most real situations, we usually have a particular park in mind (the local park, the one we talked about before), so dans le parc is natural.

Can I change the word order, for example: Dans le parc, les parents surveillent leurs enfants?

Yes, that’s perfectly correct.

French often moves information about time or place to the beginning of the sentence for emphasis or style:

Les parents surveillent leurs enfants dans le parc. (neutral order)
Dans le parc, les parents surveillent leurs enfants. (emphasis on the location)

The meaning is the same; you simply highlight the place a bit more in the second version.

Which tense is surveillent, and can it mean “are watching” as well as “watch”?

Surveillent is the present indicative of surveiller.

In French, the simple present covers both English forms:

Les parents surveillent leurs enfants.
→ can mean:
- The parents watch over their children. (habitual or general fact)
- The parents are watching over their children. (right now).

If you really want to stress the “right now” idea, you can add:

Les parents sont en train de surveiller leurs enfants.
= The parents are in the process of watching over their children.

How do you pronounce the whole sentence, especially the endings?

Key points:

Les parents
- les = /le/
- parents = /pa.ʁɑ̃/ (final -s silent)
- Often said together as [le pa.ʁɑ̃]
surveillent
- /syʁ.vɛj/ (final -ent silent)
leurs enfants
- leurs = /lœʁ/
- enfants = /ɑ̃.fɑ̃/ (final -ts silent)
- There is a liaison: leurs_enfants → /lœʁ‿ɑ̃.fɑ̃/
dans le parc
- dans = /dɑ̃/ (nasal vowel, no clear “n”)
- le = /lə/
- parc = /paʁk/ (final -c is pronounced /k/)

Full sentence (approximate IPA):
/ le pa.ʁɑ̃ syʁ.vɛj lœʁ‿ɑ̃.fɑ̃ dɑ̃ lə paʁk /

Could I use another verb like veiller sur or garder instead of surveiller?

Yes, but each has a nuance:

surveiller = to keep an eye on, to supervise (most neutral in this context).
veiller sur = to watch over, to look after (more protective, sometimes more emotional).
- Les parents veillent sur leurs enfants dans le parc.
garder = to look after, to mind, to babysit (often with a stronger sense of responsibility/charge).
- Les parents gardent leurs enfants dans le parc.
  → sounds a bit odd, because parents “having” their own kids doesn’t usually use garder unless it’s about keeping them somewhere.

For this everyday scene, surveiller is the most natural and common choice.

Does les parents always mean “the parents of these children”, or can it mean “parents in general”?

Les parents can mean either, depending on context:

Specific parents:
- In this sentence, linked with leurs enfants, it clearly means the parents of these children.
Parents in general:
- Les parents surveillent souvent leurs enfants au parc.
  → Parents (in general) often watch their children at the park.

So the phrase is interpreted through context; here, because of leurs enfants, the natural meaning is “the children’s own parents.”