Paul tient le volant pendant que sa sœur nettoie le pare-chocs.

Because Paul is a third-person singular subject, so the verb tenir has to be conjugated as il/elle tient.

Present tense of tenir:

• je tiens
• tu tiens
• il / elle tient
• nous tenons
• vous tenez
• ils / elles tiennent

So Paul tient le volant = Paul holds/is holding the steering wheel.

Here, tenir means to hold.

So tenir le volant means to hold the steering wheel.

This is a useful verb because tenir can mean different things depending on context, for example:

• tenir un livre = to hold a book
• tenir une promesse = to keep a promise
• tenir un magasin = to run a shop

In this sentence, it is the physical meaning: holding.

French often uses the present tense where English would use either:

• the simple present: Paul holds
• or the present progressive: Paul is holding

So:

• Paul tient le volant can mean Paul holds the steering wheel or, more naturally in this context, Paul is holding the steering wheel
• sa sœur nettoie le pare-chocs can mean his/her sister cleans or is cleaning the bumper

If French really wants to emphasize that something is in progress, it can use:

• être en train de

For example:

• Paul est en train de tenir le volant pendant que sa sœur est en train de nettoyer le pare-chocs

But that sounds heavier, and the normal present tense is much more natural here.

Pendant que means while.

It is used before a full clause with its own subject and verb:

• pendant que sa sœur nettoie le pare-chocs

You use pendant by itself before a noun:

• pendant le repas = during the meal
• pendant la nuit = during the night

So the difference is:

• pendant + noun
• pendant que + clause

Here we need a clause, because sa sœur nettoie le pare-chocs has a subject and a verb.

Because in French, possessive adjectives agree with the thing possessed, not with the owner.

The noun sœur is feminine singular, so the normal form is:

• sa sœur = his sister / her sister

Compare:

• son frère = his brother / her brother
• sa sœur = his sister / her sister

Also, French does not show the owner's gender here:

• sa sœur can mean his sister or her sister

A useful extra point: before a feminine noun starting with a vowel or silent h, French often uses son instead of sa for pronunciation:

• son amie = his/her female friend

But sœur starts with a consonant sound, so sa sœur is correct.

French often uses the definite article (le, la, les) where English might use a possessive or sometimes no article at all.

Here, le volant and le pare-chocs mean:

• the steering wheel
• the bumper

The idea is that the objects are already clear from the situation. French does this very naturally.

So:

• Paul tient le volant = Paul is holding the steering wheel
• sa sœur nettoie le pare-chocs = his/her sister is cleaning the bumper

English also often uses the in this kind of context, so this part is actually fairly close.

Here, pare-chocs is singular.

You can tell because it has the singular article le:

• le pare-chocs = the bumper

The plural would be:

• les pare-chocs = the bumpers

This word is a compound noun, and its spelling can be confusing because it already ends in -s. Many learners think it must be plural, but it is not. In this sentence, le clearly shows that it is singular.

Also:

• pare-chocs is masculine

So:

• un pare-chocs
• le pare-chocs
• les pare-chocs

The word order is very standard.

Main clause:

• Paul tient le volant

Subordinate clause introduced by pendant que:

• pendant que sa sœur nettoie le pare-chocs

So the structure is:

• subject + verb + object + pendant que + subject + verb + object

You could also reverse the order:

• Pendant que sa sœur nettoie le pare-chocs, Paul tient le volant.

That means the same thing. French allows both orders, just like English:

• Paul is holding the steering wheel while his sister cleans the bumper.
• While his sister cleans the bumper, Paul is holding the steering wheel.

Sœur is pronounced roughly like sur in British English, but not exactly. The vowel is one that English does not really have.

The spelling œ is a common French letter combination. You will also see it in words like:

• cœur = heart
• œuf = egg
• œuvre = work

For many learners, the important thing at first is simply to recognize sœur as the word for sister and remember that it is feminine:

• une sœur
• ma sœur
• ta sœur
• sa sœur