Eu vou passar um pano na mesa antes da reunião.

In this sentence, passar um pano means to wipe with a cloth. It is a very common everyday expression in Brazilian Portuguese.

So Eu vou passar um pano na mesa means something like I’m going to wipe the table down.

A small note: in other contexts, passar pano para alguém can also be slang for making excuses for someone or covering up their bad behavior, but that is not the meaning here.

Vou passar uses the structure ir + infinitive, which is extremely common in Brazilian Portuguese for talking about the near future, just like going to in English.

• Eu vou passar um pano = I’m going to wipe
• A more formal simple future would be Eu passarei um pano

In everyday Brazilian speech, vou passar sounds much more natural than passarei.

Yes. Brazilian Portuguese often drops subject pronouns when the meaning is clear from the verb.

So both are natural:

• Eu vou passar um pano na mesa antes da reunião.
• Vou passar um pano na mesa antes da reunião.

Including Eu can add a little emphasis or clarity, but it is not required.

Um pano means a cloth or some cloth, not a specific previously mentioned cloth. It sounds natural when the exact cloth does not matter.

• um pano = a cloth / some kind of cloth
• o pano = the cloth, a specific one already known in the conversation

In this sentence, the speaker is just saying they will use a cloth to wipe the table, so um pano is the normal choice.

Pano is a general word for cloth. In this context, it usually suggests a cleaning cloth or rag.

Depending on context, Brazilians might also say more specific things like:

• pano de prato = dish towel / kitchen towel
• pano de chão = floor cloth
• flanela = polishing cloth

But um pano is a broad, natural everyday choice when the exact type is not important.

Because na is the contraction of em + a.

• em = in / on / at
• a mesa = the table
• em + a = na

So:

• passar um pano na mesa = wipe the table

These contractions are required in normal Portuguese:

• em o → no
• em a → na
• de o → do
• de a → da

Here it means on the table, more specifically on the surface of the table.

Portuguese often uses em where English might choose on. So na mesa is the normal way to express this idea in this sentence.

If you say:

• Estou na mesa
  it can sometimes mean I’m at the table, depending on context.

But with passar um pano na mesa, the meaning is clearly physical contact with the table’s surface: wipe the table.

Antes da reunião means before the meeting.

Here, da is the contraction of de + a:

• antes de = before
• a reunião = the meeting
• antes de + a reunião → antes da reunião

This is the normal pattern when antes de is followed by a noun with an article.

In this sentence, antes da reunião is the natural choice because it refers to a specific meeting.

• antes da reunião = before the meeting
• antes de reunião would sound incomplete or unusual here unless you were speaking in a more general or special context

Portuguese uses definite articles more often than English, especially with specific events, people, and things already understood in context.

Yes, but the nuance is slightly different.

• limpar a mesa = clean the table
• passar um pano na mesa = wipe the table with a cloth

Limpar is broader. It focuses on the result: making it clean.
Passar um pano focuses more on the action or method: using a cloth.

So if you specifically want to describe wiping it down, passar um pano is better.

Usually, yes, if you are simply mentioning the action without referring to a specific cloth already known.

• passar um pano na mesa = wipe the table with a cloth
• passar o pano na mesa = wipe the table with the cloth

The version with o pano sounds like both speakers already know which cloth is being talked about.

It is neutral and very natural in everyday Brazilian Portuguese. It is not slangy, and it is not especially formal either.

You could say it in normal conversation at home, at work, or in many casual professional situations.

If you wanted a more formal version, you might say:

• Vou limpar a mesa antes da reunião.

But the original sentence is perfectly standard.

In everyday speech, it may sound a little more connected and reduced, something like:

Eu vô passá um pano na mesa antes da reunião.

That spelling is not standard writing, but it reflects common pronunciation:

• vou may sound like vô
• final -r in passar is often weak or dropped in speech, sounding like passá

In writing, though, you should keep: Eu vou passar um pano na mesa antes da reunião.