Après le dîner, je passe la serpillière avec un seau d’eau chaude.

In standard French, meals usually take the definite article, so le dîner is the normal way to say dinner in a general sense.

So:

• après le dîner = after dinner

French often uses le / la / les where English uses no article:

• au petit-déjeuner
• avant le déjeuner
• après le dîner

You may sometimes see article-less expressions in older or fixed styles, but après le dîner is the safest everyday form.

Not always in every French-speaking region.

In France, the usual modern meanings are:

• petit-déjeuner = breakfast
• déjeuner = lunch
• dîner = dinner

But in some other places, especially Belgium, Switzerland, and parts of Canada, meal words can differ:

• déjeuner may mean breakfast
• dîner may mean lunch
• souper may mean dinner

So the exact meaning of dîner can depend on region, even though in standard France French it usually means dinner.

Passer is a very common French verb with many meanings, such as to pass, to spend, to go by, or to put on something. Here, in the expression passer la serpillière, it means to mop.

So this is not a literal word-for-word use of passer. It is part of a set expression:

• passer l’aspirateur = to vacuum
• passer le balai = to sweep
• passer la serpillière = to mop

A good way to learn it is as a whole phrase.

French often prefers verb + noun expressions where English uses a single verb.

For household chores, this is very common:

• faire la vaisselle = to do the dishes
• passer l’aspirateur = to vacuum
• passer la serpillière = to mop

So even if English has the simple verb to mop, French naturally uses the expression passer la serpillière.

La serpillière is the cleaning tool used for mopping. Depending on context, it can refer to:

• a mop
• a floor cloth
• the mopping implement in general

In everyday usage, passer la serpillière simply means to mop the floor. You do not need to worry too much about the exact physical type of mop unless the context is very specific.

Because French normally uses an article with nouns, especially in fixed everyday expressions.

So French says:

• passer la serpillière
• passer le balai
• prendre le bus
• faire la cuisine

English often drops the article in similar expressions, but French usually keeps it. Here la serpillière is not referring to one special mop already mentioned; it is just the normal French way to express the activity.

Because un seau d’eau chaude means a bucket of hot water, meaning an amount or quantity of water.

After a container noun like seau, French usually uses de:

• un verre d’eau = a glass of water
• une tasse de thé = a cup of tea
• un seau d’eau chaude = a bucket of hot water

De l’eau chaude would be used if you were talking about some hot water by itself:

• J’utilise de l’eau chaude.

But after un seau, French normally switches to de:

• un seau d’eau chaude

This is because eau begins with a vowel. In French, de usually contracts before a vowel sound:

• de + eau → d’eau
• de + huile → d’huile
• de + argent → d’argent

This is called elision. It helps French sound smoother.

Because most French adjectives come after the noun.

So:

• eau chaude = hot water
• une maison blanche = a white house
• un livre intéressant = an interesting book

A small group of common adjectives often come before the noun, but chaud / chaude normally comes after it here.

It means using a bucket of hot water. The phrase avec introduces what is being used to do the action.

So the idea is that the speaker mops the floor with a bucket of hot water available/used for the task. In natural English, you might focus more on the water than the bucket, but in French this wording is perfectly normal.

French present tense can cover several English ideas depending on context:

• I mop
• I am mopping
• I do mop

In this sentence, without extra context, je passe la serpillière most naturally means either:

• a habitual action: I mop the floor after dinner
• a simple statement of what I do

If you wanted to make the ongoing action very explicit, French could also use:

• Je suis en train de passer la serpillière. = I am mopping right now.

It is not absolutely required, but it is very natural.

Après le dîner is an introductory time expression, and French often separates that kind of phrase with a comma:

• Après le dîner, je passe la serpillière.
• Le matin, je bois du café.

The comma helps readability and mirrors a natural pause, but in short sentences it may sometimes be omitted.

A rough English-friendly guide is:

• serpillière ≈ sehr-pee-YAIR

A few useful points:

• the r is the French r
• ill in this word sounds like y
• the stress is not as strong as in English

And a few other pronunciation notes in the sentence:

• Après ≈ ah-preh
• dîner ≈ dee-nay
• seau sounds like so
• eau also sounds like o