Yōko Ono

The names and adjectives of colors can present certain difficulties as for the agreement in kind and of number, difficulties which depend on the origin of this name. There exist however some rules which, quite comparable, make it possible to be left this Dilemme.

Simple adjectives of color

The simple adjectives of color agree in kind and of number to the word to which they are referred.

These words are, inter alia, white, black, blue, red, green, yellow, gray, crimson…

Just as some particular cases: scarlet, deer, incarnate, mauve, crimson, pink and vermeil.

Examples

  • a white wall, White Houses.

  • a blue flag, non luminous flames.
  • a green dress, green apples.
  • an orange piece of furniture, orange cups.

Made up names

The made up names of colors agree neither in kind nor of number.

The made up names are, inter alia, blue-black, gray-blue…

Examples

  • a shirt gray-blue.

  • a drain verdigris.
  • Of the curtains throat-of-pigeon.

Juxtaposed adjectives

Same manner, the juxtaposed adjectives of color lose their variable nature. They are the adjectives coming to characterize the definite color.

Examples

  • a blue car, but a car dark blue will be said.

  • a gray house, but one will say a house clear gray.
  • Of the hair châtains, but one will say hair châtain clearly.
  • Of the green sheets, but one will say sheets green olive.

Caution

If two colors refer to the same object, they will be in the singular. On the other hand, if they indicate different objects, they will take the mark of plural.

  • a boat with the green and blue hull (the hull was painted of two colors) .
but
  • One sees boats with green and blue hulls (some have green hulls, the other blue ones) .

Names employed like adjectives of color

There exists an exhaustive list of names of colors which are always invariable. Generally, when these adjectives are in fact of the common nouns, they do not agree: of the shirts banana , of the curtains plum . Orange or maroon , coming from fruits, is invariable as a color: of the orange charts , of the pieces of furniture chestnut . Among these names, some became variable, like pink , mauve, deer, crimson, scarlet, incarnates, vermilion

List invariable colors

External bond

  • colors in the wiktionnaire

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