Is Colour a noun or adjective?
The word color (or colour) is a noun and a noun adjunct (a noun that acts like an adjective to modify another noun) as well as a verb and—in its participle forms—a participle adjective . . . I colored (verb) the black-and-white coloring (present participle adjective) page with a blue color (noun).
Is Colour a noun or verb?
colour noun (RED/BLUE ETC) red, blue, green, yellow, etc: She dressed in bright colours. Green is my favourite colour.
Is color name a noun?
The names of colors are generally not proper nouns. Words such as blue, green, orange, yellow, and red are all common nouns, so they are not…
What kind of noun is color?
[countable, uncountable] the appearance that things have that results from the way in which they reflect light. Red, orange and green are colours.
What type of word is colors?
As detailed above, ‘colors’ can be a noun or a verb. Noun usage: The colors were raised over the new territory.
What is Colour in simple words?
The definition of color is a component of light which is separated when it is reflected off of an object. To color something is to add a hue, shade, paint or dye to an object or picture.
What is Colour and types?
There are three different types of colors: primary, secondary, and tertiary colors. The primary colors are red, yellow, and blue. The secondary colors are green, orange, and purple. And the tertiary colors are yellow-orange, red-orange, red-purple, blue-purple, blue-green, and yellow-green.
What are the normal colors?
Red, yellow, and blue are the three traditional primary colours….The most common colour names are:
- Red.
- Orange.
- Yellow.
- Green.
- Blue.
- Cyan.
- Purple.
- White.
What color pee is bad?
Urochrome can be amber in color, but when you drink enough water, the amber color gets more dilute and appears yellow. Ideally, your urine will appear yellow or straw-colored. If it’s so light it’s almost clear, you may be drinking too much. If it’s darker, you may not be drinking enough.
What are the 10 basic colors?
English, for example, has the full set of 11 basic colors: black, white, red, green, yellow, blue, pink, gray, brown, orange and purple. In a 1999 survey by linguists Paul Kay and Luisa Maffi, languages were roughly equally distributed between the basic color categories that they tracked.
What are the 9 basic colors?
- Red Egg, 2. Orange Egg, 3. Yellow Egg,
- Green Egg, 5. Blue Egg, 6. Purple Egg,
- Brown Egg, 8. Black Egg, 9. White Egg.
- Created with fd’s Flickr Toys.
- The eggs were created with www.dumpr.net.
What are the 12 Colours name?
English contains eleven basic color terms: ‘black’, ‘white’, ‘red’, ‘green’, ‘yellow’, ‘blue’, ‘brown’, ‘orange’, ‘pink’, ‘purple’, and ‘grey’. Italian, Russian and Hebrew have twelve, distinguishing blue and light blue, while French has beige to refer the colour of undyed wool.
What are the 7 primary colors?
Color Basics
- Three Primary Colors (Ps): Red, Yellow, Blue.
- Three Secondary Colors (S’): Orange, Green, Violet.
- Six Tertiary Colors (Ts): Red-Orange, Yellow-Orange, Yellow-Green, Blue-Green, Blue-Violet, Red-Violet, which are formed by mixing a primary with a secondary.
What are the 12 basic colors?
There are 12 main colors on the color wheel. In the RGB color wheel, these hues are red, orange, yellow, chartreuse green, green, spring green, cyan, azure, blue, violet, magenta and rose. The color wheel can be divided into primary, secondary and tertiary colors.
What are the 8 primary colors?
Terms in this set (8)
- Red. …
- Blue. …
- Green. …
- Yellow. …
- Orange. …
- Purple. …
- Brown. …
- Black. …
What is the other name for color?
What is another word for color?
| complexion | hue |
|---|---|
| chroma | paint |
| pigmentation | wash |
| chromaticity | chromatism |
| chromism | coloration |
What are the 16 colors?
a color name. HTML used to recognize 16 color names (“black”, “white”, “gray”, “silver”, “maroon”, “red”, “purple”, “fushsia”, “green”, “lime”, “olive”, “yellow”, “navy”, “blue”, “teal”, and “aqua”), but new browsers can recognize 147 CSS3 color names.
How many colors are in total?
First of all, scientists have determined that in the lab we can see about 1,000 levels of dark-light and about 100 levels each of red-green and yellow-blue. So that’s about 10 million colors right there.
What is the weirdest color name?
13 Incredibly Obscure Colors You’ve Never Heard of Before
- Amaranth. This red-pink hue is based off the color of the flowers on the amaranth plant.
- Vermilion.
- Coquelicot.
- Gamboge.
- Burlywood.
- Aureolin.
- Celadon.
- Glaucous.
What’s the prettiest color in the world?
YInMn blue is so bright and perfect that it almost doesn’t look real. It’s the non-toxic version of the world’s most popular favorite color: blue. Some people are calling this hue the best color in the world.
What is the most rare color?
Vantablack is known as the darkest man made pigment. The color, which absorbs almost 100 percent of visible light, was invented by Surrey Nanosystems for space exploration purposes. The special production process and unavailability of vantablack to the general public makes it the rarest color ever.
What is the 2nd rarest eye color?
Eye Color Statistics From Most Common to Most Rare
| Rank | Eye Color | Estimated Percentage of World Population |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brown | 55%–79% |
| 2 | Blue | 8%–10% |
| 3 | Hazel | 5% |
| 4 | Amber | 5% |
Is Black an eye color?
Contrary to popular belief, true black eyes do not exist. Some people with a lot of melanin in their eyes might appear to have black eyes depending on the lighting conditions. This is not truly black, however, but simply a very dark brown.
What is the adjective of color? colored (adjective) coloring (noun) coloring book (noun)
Then, What is the verb of color?
Definition of color (Entry 2 of 2) transitive verb. 1a : to give color to. b : to change the color of (as by dyeing, staining, or painting) She colors her hair. 2 : to change as if by dyeing or painting: such as.
Are colors verbs or adjectives? Colors(Blue, Red, Purple, etc) are usually adjectives but they can also form parts of nouns too.
Also, Is color noun or adjective?
As detailed above, ‘color’ can be a noun, an adjective or a verb. Noun usage: Humans and birds can perceive color. Noun usage: Most languages have names for the colors black, white, red, and green. Noun usage: He referred to the white flag as one “drained of all color”.
What is a fancy word for color?
What is another word for color?
| complexion | hue |
|---|---|
| chroma | paint |
| pigmentation | wash |
| chromaticity | chromatism |
| chromism | coloration |
What is the adverb of colour?
In a colorable manner.
Is color an adjective or verb?
As detailed above, ‘color’ can be a noun, an adjective or a verb. Noun usage: Humans and birds can perceive color. Noun usage: Most languages have names for the colors black, white, red, and green. Noun usage: He referred to the white flag as one “drained of all color”.
What is the noun for colour?
colour Definitions and Synonyms
| singular | colour |
|---|---|
| plural | colours |
As detailed above, ‘blue’ can be an adjective, a noun or a verb. Adjective usage: Many of the traditionally blue states are on the east and west coasts. Adjective usage: Congress turned blue in the mid-term elections.
Is Colourful an adjective?
Possessing prominent and varied colours. Interesting, multifaceted, energetic, distinctive. Profane, obscene, offensive (usually in the phrase colourful language).
Is the color pink an adjective?
pink (adjective) … pink slip (noun) salmon pink (noun) shocking pink (noun)
Which type of noun is Colour?
Synonyms and related words
add/give/bring colour to something: The examples chosen add colour to the writing.
Is the color blue a noun?
blue adjective, noun [C/U] (COLOR)
Are color names proper nouns?
The names of colors are generally not proper nouns. Words such as blue, green, orange, yellow, and red are all common nouns, so they are not…
What is the scientific word for color?
The science of color is sometimes called chromatics, colorimetry, or simply color science.
How do you describe color in art?
Color has three main characteristics: hue (red, green, blue, etc.), value (how light or dark it is), and intensity (how bright or dull it is). Colors can be described as warm (red, yellow) or cool (blue, gray), depending on which end of the color spectrum they fall. Value describes the brightness of color.
What is another word for rainbow?
In this page you can discover 23 synonyms, antonyms, idiomatic expressions, and related words for rainbow, like: spectrum, iris, arc, fantasy, dream, illusion, band, prism, dragon, iridescent and unicorn.
Is colour noun or verb?
The word color (or colour) is a noun and a noun adjunct (a noun that acts like an adjective to modify another noun) as well as a verb and—in its participle forms—a participle adjective . . .
Which is correct color or colour?
When choosing between color and colour, keep in mind that both spellings are correct. The shorter one, color, is the preferred spelling in the United States. The rest of the English-speaking world uses the longer form, colour.
Is white a color?
Some consider white to be a color, because white light comprises all hues on the visible light spectrum. And many do consider black to be a color, because you combine other pigments to create it on paper. But in a technical sense, black and white are not colors, they’re shades. They augment colors.
Is paint an adjective?
paint (noun) paint (verb) painting (noun) paint thinner (noun)
Colors(Blue, Red, Purple, etc) are usually adjectives but they can also form parts of nouns too.
Colors are adjectives because they describe nouns(people and things)
I like the red sweater.
This dolphin is blue.
The color blue in this example describes the dolphin so therefore “blue” is an adjective.
An adjective describes a noun.
Colors like blue and red usually only function as nouns when they are part of a compound noun that comprises of an adjective(yellow, red, etc) and a noun(person or thing)
We went through a purple patch.
You should buy some blue-chip stocks.
Colors as Verbs
Colors are not used as verbs.
If you want to say that something changes color you can use the verbs “change”, “turn” or “go”
Did you know that you can turn orange if you eat enough carrots?
The word “color”
The word color can be a noun, adjective, or verb.
All the colors in the rainbow. (noun)
Color television has been a great invention. (adjective)
Can you color in between the lines? (verb)
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Conor is the main writer here at One Minute English and was an English teacher for 10 years. He is interested in helping people with their English skills and learning about using A.I tools at work.
Colours are one of the first things you learn when you learn a new language. But within the language we speak, it’s rare for us to think much about them. Today, we’ll look at whether or not colors are adjectives.
Yes. Any colour can also be used as an adjective.
An adjective is a describing word, and when you talk about something’s color, you are DESCRIBING what it looks like.
Why colors are adjectives
First of all, let me take you back to your English lessons. And I know for some of you, this might be going back a while.
An adjective is a word used to describe a noun. So I might have a big elephant, a shiny penny, or a scary dinosaur. As we’ve already mentioned, color can describe nouns.
I may have a green plant. A blue and red butterfly. A yellow ball.
All colours, whether simple or complex can be used as adjectives.
Are colors adjectives or nouns?
An adjective is a describing word, but a noun is a thing. If you see something, you see a noun. Most nouns (but not all) can be physically picked up.
But, as well as being adjectives, colors can also be nouns. Because you can’t physically pick up “green”, when used as a noun, colors are “abstract nouns”.
For example, if I pour bleach onto my grass, I might say “The green of the grass was removed”. Here, “the green” is a thing, not a descriptive word.
Likewise, when we say “all the colors of the rainbow”, we are saying that the colors are a noun that belongs to the rainbow.
Is color an adjective?
Much like colors, the word “color” can also be an adjective or a noun. But unlike its examples, “color” can also be a verb.
As we’ve just mentioned, color can be a noun when we’re describing it, and not using it to describe something else.
“the colour of the elephant is blue”.
And, usually, color is not a noun but an adjective. We might talk about a color photo or color paper.
To color means to give color to. Therefore, I might say “I will color the picture later”.
Are colors limiting adjectives?
No, colors are not limiting adjectives.
A limiting adjective is an adjective that limits the noun- as the name might suggest.
When you hear the phrase “limiting adjectives”, think of words such as “the, this, my”. These words place certain limits on these adjectives that separate them from the same word.
For example, “a plant” and “the plant” have different connotations.
Instead, colors are what we call “descriptive adjectives”. A descriptive adjective is just your run of the mill adjective that describes a property that something else has. And colors fall into this category.
Can colors come with adjectives?
As well as being adjectives themselves, colors can also come with other adjectives to describe them, much like most other adjectives.
I might describe a plant as “green”, but I might then go on to describe the green. For example, I might call it a “dark green” or a “pretty green”.
Outside of limiting adjectives, there aren’t many adjectives that can’t be described with another adjective.
Immensely big.
Stupidly small.
Painfully hot.
If I say “the bright blue elephant”, both “bright and blue” are adjectives, which are describing the noun “elephant”. However, “bright” is describing the blue, and “blue” is describing the elephant.
Are colors adjectives or nouns?: Science vs poetry
The difference between colors as nouns and colors as adjectives can best be described by looking at how they’re viewed by poets and scientists.
Science would say that colors are nouns. They are physical wavelengths that can be measured, altered, etc. “blue” is something that exists in the real world and it’s not a subjective matter.
On the other hand, poetry would say that colors are adjectives. We use colors to talk about the world around us. We use colors to describe how things look, and even how they make us feel.
In a way, both of them are correct.
Conclusion
And so, in summary, colors are adjectives, but at the same time, they’re also nouns.
Most of the time, colors are adjectives. But they can also be spoken about as objects, when this happens, they are nouns.
As adjectives, colors are “descriptive”, not “limiting”. And the word “color” can either be a noun, adjective, or even a verb.
Hopefully, this article has answered all your questions and given a bit more too.
Martin holds a Master’s degree in Finance and International Business. He has six years of experience in professional communication with clients, executives, and colleagues. Furthermore, he has teaching experience from Aarhus University. Martin has been featured as an expert in communication and teaching on Forbes and Shopify. Read more about Martin here.
способность,
inability
неспособность;
disability
нетрудоспособность
способный, умелый
unable
неспособный
disabled
искалеченный; инвалид
дать возможность
disable
делать неспособным, калечить
умело, искусно
абсурдность
абсурдный
приемлемость
приемлемый
unacceptable
неприемлемый
принимать, соглашаться
доступ
accessibility
доступность
доступный
доступно
случай, случайность
случайный
нечаянно, случайно
действие
actor
актер
actress
актриса
activity
активность
activities
деятельность
acting
представление
активный
acting
действующий, работающей
действовать
активно
достижение
достигать
привычка, приверженность, увлеченность
addict
увлеченный человек, имеющий стойкую привычку
способный вызывать привычку
увлекаться, предаваться
восхищение
восхитительный
восхищаться
восхитительно
совет
рекомендуемый
советовать
притворство, искусственность
affection
привязанность, любовь
притворный
affectionate
любящий
affective
эмоциональный
воздействовать, влиять; притворяться
соглашение, согласие
disagreement
разногласие, несогласие
соответствующий, приятный
соглашаться
disagree
не соглашаться
соответственно
агрессия
aggressor
агрессору зачинщик
агрессивный
нападать
агрессивно
цель
бесцельный
целиться, намереваться
бесцельно
то, что может быть позволено
unaffordable
то, что невозможно себе позволить
позволять себе
развлечение
приятно изумленный
amusing
забавный
развлекать, забавлять
изумленно
внешность; появление
disappearance
исчезновение
появляться
disappear
исчезать
назначение; деловая встреча
disappointment
разочарование, досада
назначенный
disappointed
огорченный
disappointing
разочаровывающий
назначать
disappoint
разочаровывать
одобрение
одобренный
approving
одобрительный
одобрять
одобрительно
соглашение; расположение
приведенный в порядок
приводить в порядок, организовывать
аргумент, довод
argumentation
аргументация
доказуемый (в споре)
argumentative
спорный, конфликтный
утверждать, спорить, ссориться
доказательно
присвоение; ассигнование
подходящий, соответствующий
inappropriate
несоответствущий, неуместный
присваивать, предназначать
соответственно, подходяще
прибытие
прибывать, приезжать
притяжение, привлекательность
привлеченный
attractive
привлекательный
привлекать
привлекательно
избежание, отмена
то, чего можно избежать
unavoidable
неизбежный
избегать
неизбежно
красота; красавица
красивый
украшать
красиво
роды
сносный, допустимый
unbearable
невыносимый
носить; терпеть
невыносимо
вера
вероятный, правдоподобный
unbelievable
невероятный
верить
выгода
выгодный
получать выгоду
зануда
boredom
скука
испытывающий скуку
boring
скучный, надоедливый
надоедать
скучно
дыхание, дуновение
breathing
дыхание
breather
короткая передышка
дышащий
breathless
бездыханный
дышать
затаив дыхание
дело
businessman
деловой мужчина
businesswoman
деловая женщина
занятой
businesslike
деловой, практичный
занимать делом
деловито, по-деловому
забота, уход
заботливый
careless
небрежный
заботиться, любить
заботливо
carelessly
небрежно
празднование
celebrity
знаменитость
знаменитый, прославленный
праздновать, прославлять
определенность
uncertainty
неопределенность, неуверенность
определенный
uncertain
неопределенный
определенно, уверенно
изменение; мелочь, сдача
изменчивый
changed
изменившийся
changeless
неизменный
unchanged
не изменившийся
менять; обменивать(ся)
неизменно
характер
характерный, типичный
характеризовать
выбор
разборчивый
выбирать
ребенок
children
дети
детский; ребяческий
очистка; устранение препятствий
четкий, ясный
очищать, расчищать
четко, ясно
облако
облачный
cloudless
безоблачный
собрание; коллекция
collector
сборщик
коллективный, совокупный
собирать; коллекционировать
колония
колониальный
колонизировать
цвет
цветной
colourless
бесцветный
multi-coloured
разноцветный
раскрашивать
комфорт; утешение
discomfort
беспокойство; неудобство
удобный, комфортабельный
uncomfortable
неудобный
утешать, успокаивать
удобно
uncomfortably
неудобно
община, общество
общественный, коллективный
сообщение
communicator
коммуникатор, переговорщик
использующийся в общении; коммуникативный
сообщать; общаться
сравнение
сравниваемый
comparative
сравнительный
сравнивать
сравнительно, относительно
соревнование; конкуренция
competitor
конкурент, соперник
соревновательный
соревноваться, конкурировать
в форме соревнования, конкуренции
завершение, окончание
законченный
complete
полный, завершенный
incomplete
неполный, назавершенный
заканчивать, завершать
полностью
поздравление
поздравлять
соединение, объединение
связанный, соединенный
соединять
disconnect
разъединять
внимание; рассмотрение, обсуждение
значительный
considerate
внимательный, деликатный, тактичный
inconsiderate
неосмотрительный; невнимательный к другим
считать, полагать; рассматривать
значительно
совесть
совестливый, добросовестный
conscientiousless
бессовестный
добросовестно
сознание
осознающий
unconscious
без сознания
сознательно, осознанно
консультация
consultant
консультант
консультирующий
консультировать
вместилище, контейнер
содержащий
содержать, вмещать
непрерывность
продолжающийся, длящийся
продолжать
непрерывно
управление, руководство
поддающийся управлению
uncontrollable
неподдающийся управлению
controlled
управляемый
uncontrolled
неуправляемый
управлять, регулировать
бесконтрольно
убеждение
убедительный
convinced
убежденный
убеждать
убедительно
повар
cooker
плита, духовка
переваренный
under-cooked
недоваренный
готовить еду
исправление
corrector
корректор
правильный
incorrect
неправильный
исправлять
правильно
прилавок
discount
скидка
accountant
бухгалтер
исчисляемый
uncountable
неисчисляемый
считать
немеряно, без счета
храбрость
храбрый
encouraged
воодушевленный
encouraging
подбадривающий
discouraged
обескураженный
приободрять, поддерживать
discourage
отговаривать, обескураживать
смело, храбро
создание
creativity
творчество
creator
творец, создатель
creature
творение; живое существо
творческий
создавать, творить
творчески
вера, доверие
вероятный, заслуживающий доверия
incredible
невероятный
вероятно
incredibly
невероятно
критик
criticism
критика
критический; переломный; рискованный
критиковать
критично, критически
культивация, обработка
культивированный, обработанный
обрабатывать
культура
культурный, воспитанный
cultural
культурный (как часть культуры)
культурно
лекарство; лечение
излечимый
incurable
неизлечимый
вылечивать, исцелять
неизлечимо
опасность
опасный
угрожать
опасно
день
ежедневный
ежедневно
обман, заблуждение
обманчивый
deceitful
обманчивый, лживый
обманывать
обманчиво, предательски
решение
определенный, явный
undecided
нерешительный, неясный
decisive
решительный, убежденный, убедительный
решать, принимать решение
решительно, определенно
определение
четкий, определенный
indefinite
неопределенный
определять, давать определение
определенно, ясно
indefinitely
нечетко, неопределенно
восторг, наслаждение
восхитительный
delighted
польщенный
восхищаться
с восторгом
доставка, поставка
доставленный
доставлять
зависимость
independence
независимость
зависимый
independent
независимый
зависеть
независимо
депрессия, подавленность
депрессивный, вызывающий депрессию
depressed
подавленный
подавлять
описание
описательный, наглядный
описывать
проект, дизайн
designer
дизайнер, проектировщик
проектировать
желание, стремление
желательный, желаемый
undesirable
нежелательный
желать, стремиться
желательно
разрушение
разрушенный
разрушать, уничтожать
решительность; определение
решительный
решать, определять
развитие
developer
разработчик
развитой
developing
развивающийся
undeveloped
неразвитый
развивать(ся)
умирающий
умирать
разница, различие
indifference
безразличие
другой, отличающийся
indifferent
безразличный
отличаться
по-другому
indifferently
с безразличием
тревога, беспокойство; нарушение тишины, порядка
обеспокоенный
disturbing
беспокоящий
беспокоить, мешать
сомнение
сомнительный
doubtless
несомненный
undoubted
бесспорный
сомневаться
с сомнением
doubtlessly
не сомневаясь
undoubtedly
без сомнения
легкость, свобода
disease
болезнь
легкий
uneasy
неловкий, тревожный
облегчать, ослаблять
легко
uneasily
неловко
хозяйство
экономический
economical
экономный
экономить
экономически; экономно
воспитатель, педагог
education
образование
образованный
uneducated
необразованный
educative
образовательный
воспитывать, давать образование
следствие, результат
effectiveness
эффективность
эффективный, действующий
производить, выполнять
эффективно, действенно
электричество
electrician
электрик
электрический
электрифицировать
империя
empiror
император
имперский
empiric / empirical
исходящий из опыта, эмпирический
служба, работа
unemployment
безработица
employer
наниматель, работодатель
employee
работающий по найму
нанятый, занятый
unemployed
безработный
нанимать
конец, окончание
бесконечный
unending
нескончаемый
конец, окончание
бесконечно
окружающая среда
природный
развлечение
развлекательный
развлекать
энтузиазм, восторг
enthusiast
энтузиаст, восторженный человек
восторженный
с восторгом
оборудование
снаряженный, оборудованный
снаряжать
сущность
главный, основной
главным образом
экзамен; медосмотр
проэкзаменованный; осмотренный врачом
экзаменовать; осматривать
возбуждение, волнение
возбуждающий
excitable
возбудимый
excited
возбужденный, взволнованный
возбуждать, волновать
взволнованно, возбужденно
ожидание, предчувствие
ожидаемый
unexpected
неожиданный
ожидать, предчувствовать
расход(ы), затраты
дорогой
inexpensive
недорогой
тратить, расходовать
дорого
опыт, опытность
inexperience
неопытность
experiment
эксперимент
опытный
inexperienced
неопытный
experimental
эспериментальный
испытывать
взрыв
explosive
взрывчатое вещество
взрывчатый
взрываться
выражение
выразительный
выражать
выразительно
пространство, степень
длительный,обширный
extensive
обширный
простираться, тянуться
обширно, протяженно
крайняя степень, крайность
крайний, чрезвычайный
крайне
очарование, обаяние
чарующий
fascinated
очарованный
очаровывать
справедливость; порядочность
порядочный, справедливый
unfair
несправедливый
справедливо, честно; довольно-таки
финансы
финансовый
финансировать
финансово
твердость
твердый
утверждать
твердо
физическая форма, физическое состояние
находящийся в хорошей форме; подходящий
unfit
неподходящий
подгонять, подстраивать
следующий
следовать
глупыш, дурак
глупый
обманывать
глупо
забываемый
unforgettable
незабываемый
forgetful
забывчивый
forgotten
забытый
забывать
прощение
прощающий
forgivable
простительный
unforgivable
непростительный
прощать
с прощением
судьба, счастье; богатство, состояние
счастливый
unfortunate
несчастный
к счастью
unfortunately
к сожалению
свобода
свободный; бесплатный
свободно
частота
частый
часто посещать
часто
друг
friendship
дружба
friendliness
дружелюбие
дружеский, дружелюбный
unfriendly
недружеский
дружелюбно
страх, испуг
страшный
frightened
испуганный
frightening
пугающий
пугать, устрашать
страшно; испуганно
щедрость
щедрый
щедро
джентльмен
мягкий, нежный
мягко, нежно
привидение, призрак
похожий на привидение
трава
травяной
привычка, обычай
habitant
обитатель
habitat
естественная среда
habitation
жилище, обиталище
привычный
приучать
обычно
рука; рабочий
handful
горсть
удобный (для использования)
handmade
изготовленный вручную
вручать
счастье
unhappiness
несчастье
счастливый
unhappy
несчастный
счастливо
unhappily
несчастливо
вред
вредный
harmless
безвредный
повредить, навредить
вредно
здоровье
здоровый
unhealthy
нездоровый
дом, жилище
бездомный
честь
почетный
почитать, чтить
почетно
надежда
hopefulness
оптимизм, надежда
надеющийся
hopeless
безнадежный
надеяться
с надеждой
человечество
человеческий
humane
гуманный
inhuman
бесчеловечный
humanitarian
гуманитарный
юмор
юмористический
с юмором
спешка
торопливый, спешащий
hurried
торопливый
торопиться
торопливо
лед
ледяной
важность
важный
unimportant
незначительный
важно
впечатление
впечатленный
impressive
впечатляющий
unimpressed
безучастный
производить впечатление
впечатляюще
улучшение
улучшенный
улучшать
толчок, побуждение
импульсивный
импульсивно
несчастный случай; конфликт, инцидент
случайный
случайно
рост, увеличение
растущий
увеличивать(ся)
с ростом
промышленность
промышленный
industrious
трудолюбивый. усердный
индустриализовать
в промышленном отношении
сообщение, информация
informant
осведомитель
formality
формальность
осведомленный
well-informed
знающий, хорошо информированный
misinformed
неверно информированный
formal
формальный, официальный
informal
неофициальный
информировать
misinform
неверно сообщать; дезинформировать
информационно
интенсивность
интенсивный
интенсифицировать
интенсивно
интерес
заинтересованный
interesting
интересный
интересовать
изобретатель
invention
изобретение
изобретательный
изобретать
изобретательно
приглашение
приглашенный
приглашать
вдохновение
вдохновленный
inspiring
вдохновляющий
вдохновлять
знание
acknowledgement
признание; расписка
признанный
признавать, подтверждать
законность, легальность
юридический, законный
illegal
незаконный, подпольный
легализовать
законно
illegally
незаконно
сходство, подобие
приятный
unlike
непохожий
like
аналогичный
относиться хорошо
dislike
относиться отрицательно
вероятно
unlikely
невероятно
unlike
в отличие
жизнь
living
жизнь
оживленный, веселый
live
актуальный, реальный
жить
оживленно
литература
буквальный
literary
литературный
literate
грамотный
illiterate
неграмотный
буквально
место, поселение
местный
размещать
в определенном месте
одиночество
одинокий; один
удача
удачливый
unlucky
неудачливый, неудачный
к счастью
роскошь
шикарный
большинство
главный, основной
управляющий, руководитель
управленческий
управлять; справляться
женитьба
женатый / замужняя
unmarried
неженатый / незамужняя
жениться
встреча; собрание
встречать, знакомиться
память
memorial
мемориал
памятный
заучивать наизусть
нищета
нищенский, ничтожный
месяц
ежемесячный
ежемесячно
движение
неподвижный
показывать жестом
тайна, загадка
таинственный, загадочный
таинственно, загадочно
необходимость
необходимый
unnecessary
ненужный
необходимо
нерв
нервный
нервировать
нервно
число; количество
многочисленный
numerate
умеющий считать
innumerate
неумеющий считать
обозначать цифрами
объект, предмет
objective
цель; возражение
объективный
возражать
объективно
упрямый
упрямо
случай, происшествие
происходить
операция; оперирование, приведение в действие
управлять, действовать
возможность
opportunist
оппортунист
своевременный, подходящий
оппозиция, противостояние
opponent
оппонент, противник
напротив
opposed
противоположный
противопосталять
владелец, хозяин
собственный
владеть
боль
болезненный
painless
безболезненный
болезненно
painlessly
безболезненно
терпение
impatience
нетерпение
patient
пациент
терпеливый
impatient
нетерпеливый
терпеливо
impatiently
нетерпеливо
участник
participation
участие
участвующий
принимать участие
подробности
особенный
особенно
совершенство
совершенный, идеальный
imperfect
несовершенный
совершенствовать, улучшать
отлично, безупречно
период, срок
периодический
периодически
представление; исполнение
performer
исполнитель
исполнять, выполнять, совершать
мир, спокойствие
мирный
мирно
разрешение
permissiveness
вседозволенность
permit
пропуск
позволяющий
позволять
с позволением
удовольствие
приятный
pleased
довольный
displeased
недовольный
доставлять удовольствие
приятно
точка; пункт
остроконечный, нацеленный
pointful
уместный, удачный
pointless
бесцельный
указывать, направлять
остро, по существу
вежливость
вежливый
impolite
невежливый
вежливо
популярность
популярный
unpopular
непопулярный
популяризировать
владение, собственность
possessor
обладатель, владелец
собственнический
владеть, обладать
вероятность, возможность
возможный
impossible
невозможный
возможно
сила, мощь
мощный
powerless
бессильный
уполномочивать
предпочтение
предпочтительный
preferential
пользующийся препочтением
предпочитать
предпочтительно
подготовка
подготовленный
unprepared
неподготовленный
подготовить
с готовностью
престиж
престижный
престижно
профессия
профессиональный
профессионально
выгода
выгодный
unprofitable
не приносящий выгоды
получать выгоду
выгодно
прогресс, продвижение
прогрессивный
продвигаться вперед
постепенно, продвигаясь вперед
предложение
предложенный
делать предложение
процветание
процветающий
процветать
процветающе
общественность
общественный
разглашать
открыто, публично
быстрота
быстрый
убыстрять
быстро
реальность
realization
реализация, осуществление
реальный, настоящий
unreal
нереальный
реализовать, осуществлять
действительно, в самом деле
признание, узнавание
признанный
узнавать; признавать
снижение, понижение
уменьшенный; сниженный
снижать; сбавлять
отдых, расслабление
расслабленный
relaxing
отдыхающий; расслабляющий
отдыхать, расслабляться
расслабленно
надежность
надежный
unreliable
ненадежный
доверять, полагаться
надежно
религия
религиозный
нежелание, неохота
неохотный
неохотно
регулярность
irregularity
нерегулярность
регулярный, правильный
irregular
неправильный; нестандартный
регулировать
регулярно
замечание
замечательный
замечать, отмечать
замечательно
представление
representative
представитель
представительный
представлять
упрек
безупречный
упрекать
с упреком
репутация
имеющий хорошую репутацию, почтенный
disreputable
имеющий плохую репутацию
давать репутацию
disrepute
компрометироватъ
сопротивление
ударопрочный;
irresistible
неотразимый
resistant
прочный
сопротивляться
неотразимо
уважение
уважительный
уважать
с уважением
отдых
беспокойный
отдыхать
беспокойно
награда
стоящий награды
unrewarded
невознагражденный
награждать
богатства
richness
богатство
богатый
обогащать
богато
риск
рискованный
рисковать
грусть
грустный
огорчать
грустно
сейф
safety
безопасность
безопасный
unsafe
опасный
спасать; экономить
безопасно
удовлетворение
dissatisfaction
неудовлетворенность; недовольство
довольный
dissatisfied
недовольный
satisfactory
удовлетворительный
unsatisfactory
неудовлетворительный
удовлетворять
dissatisfy
разочаровывать; огорчать
исследование
искать, осуществлять поиск
безопасность
безопасный
insecure
находящийся в опасности
охранять, гарантировать
безопасно
серьезность
серьезный
серьезно
наука
scientist
ученый
научный
научно
чувство
insensibility
отсутствие чувствительности
чувствительный
insensitive
несочувствующий
sensible
разумный
insensible
нечувствительный, неосознающий
ощущать
чувствительно
sensibly
разумно
услуга, обслуживание
servant
слуга
обслуженный; поданный на стол
служить, обслуживать, подавать на стол
значительный
insignificant
незначительный
иметь значение
значительно
сходство, похожесть
похожий, подобный
похоже, подобно
искренность
искренний
insincere
неискренний
искренне
шорты
короткий
укорачивать
кратко
сон
sleeper
спящий; спальный вагон
спящий
sleepless
бессонный
спать
без сна
решение; раствор
решенный; растворенный
решать; находить выход; растворять
специальность; фирменное блюдо
specialty
особенность
особенный; специальный
specific
специфический
точно определять
specialize
специализировать(ся)
специально
specifically
специфично
сила
сильный
укреплять
сильно
стресс
стрессовый
ударять, ставить ударение
в состоянии стресса
успех
успешный
unsuccessful
безуспешный
преуспевать
успешно
достаточность
insufñcience
недостаточность
достаточный
insufficient
недостаточный
быть достаточным
достаточно
подходящий
unsuitable
неподходящий
подходить, устраивать
предложение
предлагать
подозреваемый
подозрительный
подозревать
подозрительно
пловец
swimming
плавание
плавающий, плавательный
плавать
сочувствие, понимание
сочувствующий
сочувствовать
с пониманием; сочувственно
уверенность
уверенный
unsure
неуверенный
assured
обеспеченный; уверенный
self-assured
уверенный в себе
обеспечивать; гарантировать
assure
уверять, обеспечивать
конечно; уверенно
assuredly
с уверенностью
окружение
окруженный
окружать
беседа, разговор
разговорчивый
беседовать
вкус
distaste
отсуствие вкуса
сделанный со вкусом; обладающий вкусом
tasteless
безвкусный
пробовать
со вкусом
tastelessly
без вкуса
террор
terrorist
террорист
ужасный
terrific
потрясающий
terrifying
ужасающий
terrified
напуганный
ужасать
ужасно
terrifically
потрясающе
жажда
испытывать жажду
колготки
плотный, тесный
сжимать, натягивать
тесно, плотно
мысль
задумчивый
thoughtless
бездумный
думать, иметь мнение
задумчиво
трагедия
трагичный
tragical
трагический
трагично
путешествие
traveller
путешественник
путешествующий
путешествовать
правда
untruth
неправда
правильный; настоящий
untrue
неверный, не соответствующий действительности
truthful
правдивый
по-настоящему, искренне
truthfully
правдиво
ценность
ценимый
valuable
ценный
ценить, оценивать
разнообразие
variability
изменчивость, непостоянство
изменяемый
invariable
неизменный
менять, разнообразить
неизменно
год
ежегодный
ежегодно
понимание
misunderstanding
непонимание; недоразумение
понятный
понимать
польза
misuse
неправильное использование;
usage
использование
полезный
useless
бесполезный
used
использованный
unused
неиспользованный
использовать, пользоваться
полезно
uselessly
бесполезно
неделя
еженедельный
еженедельно
ширина
широкий
расширять
широко
воля, желание; завещание
жаждущий, желающий
unwilling
не желающий
проявлять волю, желать
охотно, с удовольствием
unwillingly
неохотно
ветер
ветренный
windless
безветренный
мудрость
мудрый
unwise
неблагоразумный
мудро
unwisely
неблагоразумно
стоимость, ценность
достойный
worthless
не имеющий ценности
Continue Learning about English Language Arts
Is green a verb or an adjective?
It can be either, but more typically an adjective.
The word green can be a noun (color), an adjective (color of
something), or a verb (to make green, to add greenery).
What is color full adjectives?
The adjective meaning full of color is colorful.
Is purple an adjective?
Yes, purple can be considered an adjective when it refers to the color of something (a noun).Used alone to mean the color purple, it is a noun. (e.g. Purple is my favorite color.)
Is orange a noun?
Yes, orange is a noun. It means a fruit or the color associated
with it. Orange as a color can also be an adjective. (Orange is an
adjective in «orange liquid» but a noun adjunct in «orange
juice.»)
Is blue an adjective or adverb?
Blue, when used with a noun to indicate color, is an adjective (e.g. blue skies).Used to mean simply the color, it is a noun. The verb to blue means to dye or color blue.
What is the difference between Color and Colour?
Both words have the same meaning.
- colors = colours
You can see a difference in spelling. One word has OR and the other word has OUR.
The spelling depends on the country where the word is written.
- Color is used in American English.
- Colour (with the letter U) is used in British English.
This difference of OR in American English and OUR in British English also appears in some other words.
- Favorite – American English
- Favourite – British English
- Neighbor – American English
- Neighbour – British English
When you use these words together, make sure they are both in the American English form (without a U) or both in the British English form (with the letter U).
- What is your favorite color?
This is how it is written in American English… no letter U.
- What is your favourite colour?
This is how it is written in British English… both with the letter U.
Don’t mix them when writing.
- What is your favorite colour? (NOT correct)
This example is NOT correct because favorite is in American English and colour is in British English. You cannot mix styles.
Summary Chart
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#1
Jane bought a red hat.
If I want to ask the colour of the hat, which below question is correct? If none, how do I ask the question?
What colour hat did Jane buy?
What colour is the hat that Jane bought?
Thanks a lot.
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#2
Maybe: which is the colour of Jane’s hat?
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#3
Either of your options are correct.
«Which is the colour of Jane’s hat?» is not correct — this question should be asked as «What color is Jane’s hat/What is the color of Jane’s hat?»
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#4
In my opinion the most usual way of phrasing the question would be, “What colour hat did Jane buy?”
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#5
Jane bought a red hat.
If I want to ask the colour of the hat, which below question is correct? If none, how do I ask the question?
1. What colour hat did Jane buy?
2. What colour is the hat that Jane bought?Thanks a lot.
Both are grammatically correct.
I would teach English students to use 2. before introducing them to the use of the auxiliary verb ‘do’ (‘did’ in 1.).
As a native speaker I would use 1. in common speech because it is more concise.
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#6
Many thanks to all of your for your help.
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#7
As a native speaker I would use 1. in common speech because it is more concise.
Concise, yes, but it looks ‘chopped off’ — like something is missing, at least to a non-native speaker. What is the pattern? Is it like ‘colour [of] hat’, with an implied ‘of’?
/Wilma
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#8
As a native speaker I would use 1. in common speech because it is more concise.
Are we perhaps into a BE/AE/CaE difference again? As a native-speaker, I would never say this. If I were to use this structure, I would say, as Wilma indicated, «What colour of hat did Jane buy?» In fact, «What colour hat did Jane buy?» sounds grammatically incorrect to me. Isn’t that the same as saying «What type hat did Jane buy?» or «What shape hat did Jane buy?» All sound ungrammatical to me.
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#9
Maybe there is a varietal difference here.
For me «what colour hat did Jane buy?» is unexceptional.
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#10
Are we perhaps into a BE/AE/CaE difference again?
Probably, since all votes for ‘what colour hat’ were BE, and this type of construction would be every bit as hard to grasp as the do-construction for a non-native student. That’s why I was wondering about the pattern, i.e. other contexts with a similar construction.
/Wilma
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#11
I think the Americans were just abstaining because we instinctively look the other way when we see color spelled as colour. I would happily ask «what color hat…?»
But that hasn’t stopped me from wondering about the grammar behind it as I’ve followed this thread. The phrase «what color» does seem to behave as an interrogative adjective unto itself here, doesn’t it? This had never occurred to me before…
Cagey
post mod (English Only / Latin)
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#12
Those whose writing appears on Google seem to strongly favor the version without «of«. The results divided by the spelling of colour/color:
(These are the numbers of citations I found when I did the searches and clicked to the last citation. If you click on a link, Google will do another search, so your results may be different.)
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#13
Frantic BE-speaker waving from the back corner.
What colour hat …!!!!
I would never hear that question without thinking «non-native speaker».
Whether non-native is AE or non-English-native I don’t know, now.
I always assumed «What colour hat …» was an AE construction, but it appears not, from this thread.
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#14
Those whose writing appears on Google seem to strongly favor the version without «of«. The results divided by the spelling of colour/color:
(These are the numbers of citations I found when I did the searches and clicked to the last citation. If you click on a link, Google will do another search, so your results may be different.)
Dr. Google is not discriminatory. I guess I just don’t understand the grammar of «what colour hat». To me, that implies the acceptability of many other constructions such as «What type shoes did you buy?» or «What kind house do you live in?» Are these okay or is it just «what colour» that works like this?
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#15
Frantic BE-speaker waving from the back corner.
What colour hat …!!!!
I would never hear that question without thinking «non-native speaker».
Whether non-native is AE or non-English-native I don’t know, now.
I always assumed «What colour hat …» was an AE construction, but it appears not, from this thread.
I’m glad that you waved, Panj. I’m often out in left field and it’s nice to know I’m not alone.
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#16
Similar examples of this construct would be:
Question: What size of shoe do you wear?
Answer: Eleven
Question: What colour of eyes do you have?
Answer: Blue
Q: What style (of =optional) clothing do you prefer?
A: Blue shirt and faded jeans, to go with my eyes.
The last Question requires an answer that is more than a single, objective word or phrase. But that doesn’t quite work as a rule. I need to give more thought to it as I’ve not addressed this question before.
In common speech I’d be happy with: ‘what shape hat is she wearing’ predicting a simple answer like: ‘tall’,’peaked’ or ‘broad rimmed’. But then a longer answer would not surprise me: ‘Boat shaped with lace and cherries on top and Morris dancers around the rim…’
Cagey
post mod (English Only / Latin)
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#17
To me, that implies the acceptability of many other constructions such as «What type shoes did you buy?» or «What kind house do you live in?» Are these okay or is it just «what colour» that works like this?
The use without «of» seems to depend on the word. For instance, the following shows the same preference, but to a lesser degree.
At least in these examples, the proportions do not depend on dialect, if the spelling reflects dialect.
Words like «type» and «kind» are not often used without ‘of’.
For instance, the results for «what type of movie» vs. «what type movie» are 618/ 26.
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#18
Similar examples of this construct would be:
Question: What size
ofshoe do you wear?
Answer: Eleven
Question: What colourofeyes do you have?
Answer: Blue
Q: What style (of =optional) clothing do you prefer?
A: Blue shirt and faded jeans, to go with my eyes.The last Question requires an answer that is more than a single, objective word or phrase. But that doesn’t quite work as a rule. I need to give more thought to it as I’ve not addressed this question before.
In common speech I’d be happy with: ‘what shape hat is she wearing’ predicting a simple answer like: ‘tall’,’peaked’ or ‘broad rimmed’.
Thanks, Aardvark & Cagey, for those examples. What would be really useful is a semantic or syntactic text corpus where you could look for patterns based on word class or clause function rather than specific words!
But then a longer answer would not surprise me: ‘Boat shaped with lace and cherries on top and Morris dancers around the rim…’
Sounds like the perfect hat for A Day At The Races although I can’t remember where you’ll find the most outlandish ones… !
/Wilma
Last edited: Nov 7, 2008
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#19
Frantic BE-speaker waving from the back corner.
What colour hat …!!!!
I would never hear that question without thinking «non-native speaker».
Whether non-native is AE or non-English-native I don’t know, now.
I always assumed «What colour hat …» was an AE construction, but it appears not, from this thread.
Definitely not. I’m happy with:
What colour hat…
What colour eyes…
What colour shirt…
What do you say instead, panj?
Last edited: Nov 8, 2008
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#20
Suppose you wanted to buy a friend a souvenir t-shirt on your next visit to Cancun. Wouldn’t every one ask «What size t-shirt do you wear?»
Is this any different?
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#21
I agree, GWB.
What size T-shirt?
What colour T-shirt?
Not an AmE/BrE difference, then, but something more subtle, perhaps.
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#22
As someone suggested earlier, I would insert «of» into all of these sentences if I were forced to use this particular question structure.
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#23
«What size of t-shirt do you wear»?
Really, Panj???
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#24
That’s interesting
The «of» version wouldn’t work for me.
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#25
I know this structure, with of, sounds strange, but in reality it very rarely happens. The concept, the grammatical structure, is completely alien to me.
If we are talking about shoes — what size do you take?
If we are talking about something completely different and I have a sudden urge to ask about shoe size — what is your shoe size?
Eye colour?
What colour eyes do you have
What colour are your eyes?
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#26
I agree that «what colour eyes do you have?» sounds odd. But that’s because the implication of the sentence is that you can choose/change your eye-colour…
I’m still intrigued by panj’s desire to insert «of» in such sentences as «what size/colour shirt do you want?»
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#27
I agree that «what colour eyes do you have?» sounds odd. But that’s because the implication of the sentence is that you can choose/change your eye-colour…
I’m still intrigued by panj’s desire to insert «of» in such sentences as «what size/colour shirt do you want?»
It is not my desire to insert «of» in such sentences.
It is my desire to completely avoid this sentence structure.
If you back me into a corner and insist that I use a «What size/colour ….», then I will insist on putting «of» in the sentence. Sorry about that.
Can you explain the context in which it would be necessary to ask this strange question? I suggest that is happens very rarely.
If we are talking about shirts, «What size/colour do you want?» will be perfect.
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#28
Curiouser and curiouser!
Constructions such as these are evidently in use and considered OK by some on both sides of the ‘puddle’ but perhaps the best advice to an EFL learner would be to play it safe and avoid them unless you’re 110% positive that they will work in a given context.
One of the problems seems to be that you get a strange ‘reversed compound’ — hat colour works but colour hat looks odd. However, you can’t say «What hat colour did you buy» because you don’t buy the colour, you buy the hat. «What ice cream flavour did you buy?» would sound odd for the same reason, while «what ice cream flavour do you like?» would work.
The same with ‘size shoe’: You could ask ‘what shoe size do you wear?’ but it sounds odd because you don’t wear the size, you wear the shoe. The shop assistant could of course ask what shoe size I want, and then there’s no need to reverse it to ‘What size shoe do you want’…
/Wilma
Cagey
post mod (English Only / Latin)
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#29
Well, yes.
In «hat colour», hat works as an adjective, as you demonstrate above.
In «what color hat did she buy?», «color» is clearly the subject of the sentence and a noun. «Hat» is also a noun. It is awkward to have two nouns abutting each other without a marker that indicates their relationship. Inserting «of» remedies this, although for other reasons it may seem clumsy. The other remedy is to omit one of the nouns, as in Panj’s «What size/color do you want?»
In fact, I agree that the construction is awkward, though common.
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#30
I don’t think it’s any more awkward than «the same colour shoes/the same size shoes».
I’m troubled by Wilma’s summary: what colour/size + noun is, to me, so unexceptional — so standard — that I’d hesitate to recommend that EFL students avoid it.
I’ve tried to check the British National Corpus but for some reason it’s being antsy.
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#31
Suppose you wanted to buy a friend a souvenir t-shirt on your next visit to Cancun. Wouldn’t every one ask «What size t-shirt do you wear?»
Actually, no. If using this construction, I would always say «What size of t-shirt do you wear?»
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#32
Perhaps we’re developing a varietal distinction here: CanE plus IE vs ROW?
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#33
Wilma was asking about the grammar behind what colour hat, and the answer must be ellipsis. I would also assume that this would also be a pattern found more in speech than in writing. I wonder how folks, for instance, would transform the question into reported/indirect speech.
He said, ‘What colour hat did you buy?’
He asked Jane ….
Would you say this or something else? He asked Jane what colour hat she bought.
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#34
I don’t think it’s any more awkward than «the same colour shoes/the same size shoes».
I’m troubled by Wilma’s summary: what colour/size + noun is, to me, so unexceptional — so standard — that I’d hesitate to recommend that EFL students avoid it.
I’ve tried to check the British National Corpus but for some reason it’s being antsy.
I’m not troubled anymore — BNC samples favour your construction, i.e. what colour/flavour/size + noun, (although there were a few what size of + noun, too). There were samples from conversations as well as written language. Consequently, I’ve jumped off the fence and into the ROW team!
Thank you Natkretep, ellipsis seems to be the term for this construction. Based on Loob’s testimony, the same construction would probably appear in reported speech, too, except perhaps in highly formal written language.
/Wilma
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#35
I have noticed that friends from both Northern and Southern Ireland (plus a friend of Scottish descent from Alberta, Canada) use the construct with ‘of’ while this side of the channel we don’t. .
Could this be a result of the Celtic diaspora? It just doesn’t sound ‘right’ without a Gaelic/Gallic accent.
More Google results:
English
what colour eyes? — 14,400 — …car? 3530 …hair? 42,000
what colour of eyes? 4,400 — …car? 226 …..hair? 19,000
American
what color eyes? — 65,000 — …car? 11,800 …hair? 50,900
what color of eyes? 5,040 — …car? 722 …….hair? 4,190
The same numerical differences appear with size (of) shoe and feet, but the gap is less with shape (of) nose while the proportions are reversed for style of hat.
(The latter could be classed as a ‘noun of kind’ — kind (of), sort (of), type (of) — which are normally followed by ‘of’).
It appears that the construct is only common with colour or size.
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#36
Suppose you wanted to buy a friend a souvenir t-shirt on your next visit to Cancun. Wouldn’t every one ask «What size t-shirt do you wear?»
Is this any different?
«What size of t-shirt do you wear»?
Really, Panj???![:confused:]( "Confused :confused:")
Actually, no. If using this construction, I would always say «What size of t-shirt do you wear?»
Responding to GWB’s question and Dimcl’s comment:
The need for this question does not arise.
We are having a conversation about the possibility of buying my friend a t-shirt — context set. I ask «What size do you take?»
I don’t think it’s any more awkward than «the same colour shoes/the same size shoes».
[…]
I agree; it is no more awkward and no less awkward. I wouldn’t say «the same colour/size shoes» either.
If I had to find a grammatical explanation I would start from Cagey’s comment about the two nouns coming together.
Some nouns comfortably take on an attributive role, hat for example.
So you can have a hat-pin, a hat-box, a hat shop.
Colour and size do not, for me, take on this role.
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#37
What colour of hat did Jane buy.
This sounds very odd to me, and if I heard it I’d assume an American speaker, simply because I’ve noticed before that they add in an «of» where we don’t.
In addition, I think of it as them ADDING and therefore not ellipsis to my sense of native speech.
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#38
Wilma was asking about the grammar behind what colour hat, and the answer must be ellipsis. I would also assume that this would also be a pattern found more in speech than in writing. I wonder how folks, for instance, would transform the question into reported/indirect speech.
He said, ‘What colour hat did you buy?’
He asked Jane ….
Would you say this or something else? He asked Jane what colour hat she bought.
(natkretep, post #33)
He asked Jane what colour hat she had bought.
Last edited: Nov 10, 2008
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#39
Thanks, John. So the construction is considered sufficiently acceptable for reported speech. (The perfective (no. 38) must reflect the form of the direct version: presumably then, John would prefer the direct speech version ‘What colour hat have you bought?’) I can only conclude, as Wilma has suggested, that this construction must be considered standard (except perhaps in Ireland and Canada).
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#40
As I’ve said by PM to one of the contributors to this thread, I think there are several dimensions to this question.
First, there’s the varietal dimension: it’s clear from the thread that «what colour+noun?» is {general} AmE as well as {general} BrE, although it’s not IE or at least one variety of CanE. (Dimcl: do you have Irish antecedents?)
Then there’s an «is it ellipsis?» issue. As suzi_br said, it certainly doesn’t feel as if there’s an elided «of» to the native speakers who use it….
And there’s a «continuum» issue. I couldn’t say «what colour of dress?»; nor could I say «what kind dress?» (without «of»). But I could say both «what flavour ice-cream?» and «what flavour of ice-cream?»
I wonder if there’s a transition going on here, and some collocations are further down the «no preposition» route than others.
PS to natkretep: «He asked Jane what colour hat she had bought» is the indirect speech translation of both «What colour hat did you buy, Jane?» and «What colour hat have you bought, Jane?»
EDIT: Oops: meant to mention this Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English reference:[
What colour dress did you buy?
quote]Wat colour dress did you buy?[/quote]
Last edited: Nov 11, 2008
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#41
First, there’s the varietal dimension: it’s clear from the thread that «what colour+noun?» is {general} AmE as well as {general} BrE, although it’s not IE or at least one variety of CanE. (Dimcl: do you have Irish antecedents?)
Scottish and English
The use of «what colour/flavour/size XYZ» without the «of» sounds so foreign to my ears that I truly thought that it was strictly AE. I was brought up to speak «proper English» (meaning «The Queen’s English» in my family and educational institutions) and to find that this odd structure is perfectly natural to BE-speakers amazes me.
I can only attribute this phenomenon to the possibility that I have missed some decades of a population-wide, gradual slide into removing the use of «of» in these contexts or that it’s an «age thing» whereby younger people have been taught the acceptability of no «of».
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#42
The use of «what colour/flavour/size XYZ» without the «of» sounds so foreign to my ears that I truly thought that it was strictly AE. I was brought up to speak «proper English» (meaning «The Queen’s English» in my family and educational institutions) and to find that this odd structure is perfectly natural to BE-speakers amazes me.
I can only attribute this phenomenon to the possibility that I have missed some decades of a population-wide, gradual slide into removing the use of «of» in these contexts or that it’s an «age thing» whereby younger people have been taught the acceptability of no «of».
I could have written that.
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#43
Thanks all of you for your input. I found the whole issue quite intriguing and will, given time, check available grammar books and/or linguistics sources.
It’s possible that there is some kind of language change going on, as Loob suggests, the end result of which we won’t see for another few decades — who knows?
/Wilma
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#44
I can only attribute this phenomenon to the possibility that I have missed some decades of a population-wide, gradual slide into removing the use of «of» in these contexts or that it’s an «age thing» whereby younger people have been taught the acceptability of no «of».
Some people talk of a ‘colonial lag’:
Nonetheless, a certain antiquity is the point being made and the situation where colonies seem to fall behind developments in the mainland is often labelled ‘colonial lag’ (Görlach 1987).
Raymond Hickey, Legacies of Colonial English: Studies in Transported Dialects
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#45
I would like to expose my opinion about this.
In «What colour or color hat do you like?» the word colour-color is
not
a name but an adjective. Like probably would be colorous, color-filled, or similar, forcing the interpretation. So, «What?» goes with
hat
, and hat is qualified by the adjetivized noun, therefore an adjective, in our case colour/color. The question would be «What hat (with color) do you like?». The same applies to «size shoe»=»shoe (size-wise)», and so on. In a word, what does not inquire about the color or size or similar, which are adjectives, but about the object (hat, shoe, etc.), in order to distinguish or separate it from the rest of them. We do not want to know what color or size is, but what hat or shoe it is, (even though always referring to colors or sizes). I might be wrong, but this is which I had always thought.
Summing up, Elaine Koh’s wanted to know how to ask about the colour of the hat, not about what hat it was. So, the correct question would be
What colour/color is the hat that/which Jane bought?
What colour/color is the hat Jane bought?
What is/What’s the colour/color of the hat that/which Jane bought?
What is/What’s the colour/color of the hat Jane bought?
Also
What colour/color has the hat that/which Jane bought?
What colour/color has the hat Jane bought?
Last edited: Nov 12, 2008
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#46
«What is the colour of the hat Jane bought?»
I think it sound more natural.
Correct Me if I’m Wrong…
Last edited: Nov 12, 2008
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#47
I think the difficulty we are having is that «red», «green», etc., are both adjectives and nouns. I agree with Kitenok (Post #11). To me «what colo(u)r» can serve as an interrogative adjective, to be answered with «red», «green», «red and green mottled», or some other colo(u)r adjective.
What color of hat did Jane buy?
The question is the color
of
the hat.
Red (noun) is the color of the hat that Jane bought.
What color hat did Jane buy?
The question is what color the hat was (not what color it was «of»).
Jane bought a red (adjective) hat.
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#48
[…]
In «What colour or color hat do you like?» the word colour-color isnot
a name but an adjective. Like probably would be colorous, color-filled, or similar, forcing the interpretation. So, «What?» goes with
hat
, and hat is qualified by the adjetivized noun, therefore an adjective, in our case colour/color. […]
That is the grammatical device at work here.
It relies on colour and size being used in this way — being used attributively (see post #36).
For some of us at least, this is not normal usage and therefore What colour hat sound alien.
Last edited: Nov 12, 2008
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#49
An interesting thread & so loonnng.
Colour as an adjective is in the dictionaries and there are more google hits for «colour hat» than for «colour of hat». This also applies to the US-EN spelling.
Random checks on the pages also suggest a few people are actually bothered about the colour of a hat!
GF…
Last edited: Nov 13, 2008
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#50
One more addition.
Being so that due to the flexibility of English we can transform a noun into an adjective with a mere transposition, it occurs to me that if Elaine Koh wants to ask for the colour/color, she could say:
What hat colour did Jane buy? (what color of hat)
What hat colour is it that (which) Jane bought?