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Level 3 - Colours
The colours in French are les couleurs. Colours are adjectives. Adjectives are words which describe nouns.
blanc |
bleu |
gris |
jaune |
marron / brun |
noir |
orange |
rose |
rouge |
vert |
violet |
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| white |
| blue |
| grey |
| yellow |
| brown |
| black |
| orange |
| pink |
| red |
| green |
| purple |
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In French the colour goes after the noun. In English we say 'the red pencil' but in French we say le crayon rouge ('the pencil red'). Here are some more examples:
le livre jaune
le papier vert
le tableau noir
un stylo bleu
un pupitre gris
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the yellow book
the green paper
the black board
a blue pen
a grey desk |
Feminine agreement
If the noun is feminine the colours are spelt differently and so sound different. What we usually do is add the letter e to the colour (unless the final letter is already 'e') to make it feminine. Here are the feminine colours. Make note of the exceptions.
extra h |
blanche |
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bleue |
| |
brune |
|
grise |
no change |
jaune |
never changes |
marron |
|
noire |
never changes |
orange |
no change |
rose |
no change |
rouge |
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verte |
double tt |
violette |
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| white |
| blue |
| brown (1) |
| grey |
| yellow |
| brown (2) |
| black |
| orange |
| pink |
| red |
| green |
| purple |
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Here are some examples of feminine colours:
la fenêtre grise
la trousse blanche
une règle noire
une gomme bleue
une affiche violette
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the grey window
the white pencil case
a black ruler
a blue rubber
a purple poster |
Plural agreement
Just as we added e to make colours feminine, if something is plural we must add the letter s to the colour. This is called making an agreement. Making something both feminine and plural will require an es agreement.
Remember the two exceptions which never change their spelling: orange and marron.
les cahiers blancs
les agendas noirs
les portes bleues
l'affiche marron
des torchons orange
des ordinateurs roses
des chaises rouges
des images vertes |
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the white exercise books
the black diaries
the blue doors
the brown poster
some orange dusters
some pink computers
some red chairs
some green pictures |
Test yourself!
How do you say the following in French? Highlight the right-hand column to reveal the answers.
1 |
the red books |
= les livres rouges |
2 |
the green pencil |
= le crayon vert |
3 |
the yellow pencil case |
= la trousse jaune |
4 |
a blue chair |
= une chaise bleue |
5 |
some black pencils |
= des crayons noirs |
6 |
a pink pencil case |
= une trousse rose |
7 |
some blue boxes |
= des boîtes bleues |
8 |
a grey table |
= une table grise |
9 |
the grey tables |
= les tables grises |
10 |
the grey pens |
= les stylos gris |
11 |
some purple felt-tip pens |
= des feutres violets |
12 |
the brown chalk |
= la craie marron |
13 |
a white door |
= une porte blanche |
14 |
the pink desk |
= le pupitre rose |
15 |
some orange rubbers |
= des gommes orange |
16 |
a green book |
= un livre vert |
17 |
a black computer |
= un ordinateur noir |
18 |
the yellow felt-tip pens |
= les feutres jaunes |
19 |
some pink exercise books |
= des cahiers roses |
20 |
the blue paper |
= le papier bleu |
21 |
a white desk |
= un pupitre blanc |
22 |
a brown bag |
= un sac marron |
23 |
some brown bags |
= des sacs marron |
24 |
the purple ball-point pen |
= le stylo à bille violet |
25 |
a green window |
= une fenêtre verte |
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