Colors go before the noun
Color words are adjectives, and in English adjectives come before the noun: a red car, blue eyes, a black coat. After verbs like be, look, and turn, they come after: "The sky is blue", "Her face turned red".
When there are several adjectives, the color usually comes close to the noun, after size and age: "a big old brown dog".
Colors never change form
English adjectives have no plural or gender forms. It is one red apple and ten red apples, never "reds apples".
A color can also be a noun: "Blue is my favorite color", "I like the greens in this painting" (here the plural means different shades of green).
Light, dark, and -ish
- light and dark make a shade lighter or darker: light blue, dark green.
- bright means strong and vivid: bright red. pale means very light: pale yellow.
- -ish means "a little bit": greenish, reddish, grayish. "Her eyes are greenish brown."
- Two colors can combine with a hyphen before a noun: a blue-green sea.
Asking about color
- What color is it? "It’s dark blue."
- What color is your car? "It’s silver."
- What’s your favorite color? "Green."
Say "what color", not "which color is", unless you are choosing from a few: "Which color do you want, the red or the black?"
Color or colour, gray or grey
American English writes color and gray; British English writes colour and grey. Both are correct in their own country. Choose one style and use it everywhere in a piece of writing.
Color expressions
English uses colors in many everyday expressions:
- feel blue: feel sad.
- green with envy: very jealous.
- see red: become very angry.
- out of the blue: suddenly, with no warning.
- a white lie: a small, harmless lie.
Common mistakes
- "a car red". The color goes first: "a red car".
- "reds shoes". Colors have no plural: "red shoes".
- Purple and violet. In everyday English, purple is the usual word; violet is a lighter, bluish purple.
- Orange is two syllables: /ˈɔrɪndʒ/.