French Phrase
Un livre a 20 timbres.
Meaning
The sentence states that a particular book contains twenty stamps. It uses the verb 'avoir' to express possession, a common construction in French.
When to use
Use this phrase when you need to describe how many items (e.g., stamps, pages, chapters) are inside a single object such as a book, album, or collection.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Unlivrea20timbres
Un (indefinite article)
Used before masculine singular nouns to mean 'a' or 'one'.
livre (noun)
Masculine noun meaning 'book'.
a (avoir, 3rd person singular)
Present tense of 'avoir' meaning 'has' when talking about a third‑person singular subject.
20 (cardinal number)
Written as a numeral; pronounced 'vingt'. No liaison before the following consonant.
timbres (plural noun)
Plural of 'timbre', meaning 'stamps' (postal).
🗨In Conversation
Combien de timbres ce livre possède‑t‑il ?
How many stamps does this book have?
Un livre a 20 timbres.
A book has 20 stamps.
✕Common Mistakes
Un livre est 20 timbres.
Use 'avoir' (a) for possession, not 'être' (est).
Un livre a 20 timbre.
The noun must agree in number with the quantity.
↔Alternatives
Ce livre contient 20 timbres.
This book contains 20 stamps.
Il y a 20 timbres dans ce livre.
There are 20 stamps in this book.
Cultural Tip
In French, possession is expressed with 'avoir' rather than 'être'. Also, 'livre' can mean both 'book' and the unit of weight 'pound', so context is key. When counting, French numbers up to 69 are usually written as words, but numerals are common in spoken contexts like this.