Paul compte dix-neuf bibelots.

Compte is the present tense, third-person singular form of compter.

Because the subject is Paul, French uses the il/elle/on form:

• je compte
• tu comptes
• il/elle/on compte
• nous comptons
• vous comptez
• ils/elles comptent

So Paul compte means Paul counts in the present tense.

Yes. Compter can have more than one meaning.

In this sentence, compter means to count, because it is followed by a thing being counted: dix-neuf bibelots.

But compter can also mean to intend or to plan, especially when followed by an infinitive:

• Paul compte partir = Paul intends to leave

So the structure helps you understand the meaning:

• compter + noun → usually count
• compter + infinitive → often intend / plan

In French, after an exact number, you normally use:

number + noun

So:

• dix-neuf bibelots
• trois livres
• deux chats

You do not usually add des before the noun when the quantity is already given by the number.

That is why Paul compte dix-neuf bibelots is correct, not Paul compte des dix-neuf bibelots.

Because French compound numbers are written with a hyphen here.

Dix-neuf is the normal spelling for 19.
The hyphen is standard and should be written.

You will see the same pattern in:

• dix-sept
• dix-huit
• vingt-deux

Paul is pronounced roughly like Pol.

IPA: /pɔl/

For an English speaker, it is close to the vowel in off or thought, depending on accent, but shorter and cleaner than many English pronunciations.

It is just one syllable.

Compte is pronounced /kɔ̃t/.

A rough English approximation is kont, but that is not perfect because the vowel is nasal, which English does not really have in the same way.

A few useful points:

• the p is silent
• the final e is silent
• the vowel sound is nasal: on

So it sounds roughly like kont, not like the word is spelled in English.

Dix-neuf is pronounced /diz.nœf/.

A rough approximation is deez-nuhf, but the second vowel does not exist exactly in English.

Important detail:

• in dix-neuf, the x is pronounced like z

So you hear:

• diz
• neuf

not dis-neuf.

Bibelots is pronounced roughly bee-blo or, in more careful speech, bee-buh-lo.

IPA: /bi.b(ə).lo/

Important spelling/pronunciation points:

• the final s is silent
• the final t is silent
• the plural sounds the same as the singular in normal speech

So:

• un bibelot
• des bibelots

are usually pronounced the same way apart from the article.

It is plural because the sentence says nineteen of them: dix-neuf bibelots.

In French, a noun after a number greater than one is normally plural, just as in English.

But in pronunciation, the plural is often not audible on the noun itself, because the final s is silent.

So in writing:

• bibelot = singular
• bibelots = plural

But in speech, they usually sound the same.

Bibelot is a masculine noun.

So you would say:

• un bibelot
• des bibelots

Gender does not visibly affect this sentence very much, because there is no adjective or article right before the noun. But it matters in other contexts, for example:

• un joli bibelot
• ce bibelot

Yes. This sentence follows the very common subject + verb + object order:

• Paul = subject
• compte = verb
• dix-neuf bibelots = object

So structurally it is very close to English:

• Paul counts nineteen knickknacks

That makes this sentence fairly straightforward grammatically.

Not really between the separate words of the sentence in normal pronunciation.

• Paul compte → no liaison
• compte dix-neuf → no liaison
• dix-neuf bibelots → no liaison between neuf and bibelots

However, inside dix-neuf, you do hear the z sound in diz-neuf. It is best to learn that as part of the pronunciation of the number itself.