Colour adjectives — agreement and invariability

Colour adjectives — agreement and invariability means “Simple colour adjectives agree with the noun; colours derived from a noun or made of two words stay invariable.”. A plain colour word agrees in gender and number: des robes vertes. Formation: adj. couleur simple → accord ; couleur issue d'un nom / composée → invariable

Simple colour adjectives agree with the noun; colours derived from a noun or made of two words stay invariable.

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Formation

adj. couleur simple → accord ; couleur issue d'un nom / composée → invariable

Explanation

A plain colour word agrees in gender and number: des robes vertes. But a colour that is really a noun (marron = chestnut, orange, marine) does not change: des yeux marron. Compound colours (bleu foncé, vert clair) are also invariable.

Examples

Elle a des yeux marron et des cheveux châtains.
She has brown (chestnut) eyes and light-brown hair.
J'ai acheté des chaussettes vertes pour l'hiver.
I bought green socks for the winter.

FAQ

Colour adjectives — agreement and invariability — what does it mean and how is it used?

Simple colour adjectives agree with the noun; colours derived from a noun or made of two words stay invariable.. A plain colour word agrees in gender and number: des robes vertes. But a colour that is really a noun (marron = chestnut, orange, marine) does not change: des yeux marron. Compound colours (bleu foncé, vert clair) are also invariable.

Colour adjectives — agreement and invariability — how do you form it?

adj. couleur simple → accord ; couleur issue d'un nom / composée → invariable

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