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Ils préparent le dîner tout en passant la serpillière.

Ils préparent le dîner tout en passant la serpillière.
They prepare the dinner while passing the mop.
From Lesson 301:While doing (tout en)·French

Questions & Answers about Ils préparent le dîner tout en passant la serpillière.

Why use tout en passant instead of just en passant?
Adding tout before the gerund (en passant) emphasizes the simultaneity of the two actions. While en passant simply means while mopping, tout en passant stresses that they are doing both chores at the exact same time, highlighting the multitasking.
How do we know who is mopping the floor?
The gerund structure (en + present participle) always shares the same subject as the main verb. Because ils is the subject of préparent, they must also be the ones doing the mopping. If someone else were mopping, you would have to use a different structure with a new subject, like pendant que.
The lesson is about concession and simultaneity. Which one is happening here?
This sentence shows simultaneity, meaning two actions are simply happening at the same time. If it were a concession, the two actions would be contrasting or surprising when paired together (for example, saying someone is laughing while being in pain). Here, cooking and mopping are just two regular chores.
Is passer la serpillière the standard way to say to mop?
Yes, it is the most common and natural way. French often uses the verb passer with cleaning tools. Just like you pass the mop (passer la serpillière), you also pass the vacuum cleaner to vacuum (passer l'aspirateur) or pass the broom to sweep (passer le balai).

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