2.5. De quelle couleur est-ce ?

Talking About Colours

2.5.1. The Main Idea

In French, colours are adjectives. This means they can describe people, places, and things.

Le sac est rouge.	The bag is red.
La table est blanche.	The table is white.
Le livre est bleu.	The book is blue.
La voiture est noire.	The car is black.

Because colours are adjectives, many of them change form depending on whether the noun is masculine or feminine.

2.5.2. Asking About Colour

De quelle couleur est-ce ?	What colour is it?
C’est de quelle couleur ?	What colour is it? more casual
Le sac est de quelle couleur ?	What colour is the bag?
La table est de quelle couleur ?	What colour is the table?

2.5.3. Main Answer Pattern

C’est ___ .	It is ___ .
C’est rouge.	It is red.
C’est bleu.	It is blue.
C’est noir.	It is black.
C’est blanc.	It is white.

2.5.4. Colour Agreement

Some colours change in the feminine form.

Masculine	Feminine
bleu	bleue
noir	noire
blanc	blanche
vert	verte
gris	grise

2.5.5. Examples with Masculine Nouns

Le sac est noir.	The bag is black.
Le livre est bleu.	The book is blue.
Le stylo est vert.	The pen is green.
Le cahier est blanc.	The notebook is white.
Le crayon est gris.	The pencil is grey.

2.5.6. Examples with Feminine Nouns

La table est noire.	The table is black.
La chaise est bleue.	The chair is blue.
La règle est verte.	The ruler is green.
La gomme est blanche.	The eraser is white.
La maison est grise.	The house is grey.

2.5.7. Colours That Do Not Change Much

Some colours stay the same in masculine and feminine forms.

rouge	red
jaune	yellow
rose	pink
orange	orange
marron	brown

2.5.8. Common Colours

rouge	red
bleu	blue, masculine
bleue	blue, feminine
noir	black, masculine
noire	black, feminine
blanc	white, masculine
blanche	white, feminine
vert	green, masculine
verte	green, feminine
gris	grey, masculine
grise	grey, feminine
jaune	yellow
rose	pink
orange	orange
marron	brown
violet	purple, masculine
violette	purple, feminine

2.5.9. Word Order

In French, colour adjectives usually come after the noun.

un sac noir	a black bag
une table noire	a black table
un livre bleu	a blue book
une chaise bleue	a blue chair
un stylo vert	a green pen
une règle verte	a green ruler

2.5.10. Core Patterns

C’est ___ .	It is ___ .
Le sac est ___ .	The bag is ___ .
La table est ___ .	The table is ___ .
De quelle couleur est-ce ?	What colour is it?
C’est de quelle couleur ?	What colour is it?

2.5.11. Practice

It is red. |

The book is blue. |

The chair is blue. |

The bag is black. |

The table is black. |

A green pen |

A green ruler |

A white notebook |

A white eraser |

2.5.12. Answers

It is red.	C’est rouge.
The book is blue.	Le livre est bleu.
The chair is blue.	La chaise est bleue.
The bag is black.	Le sac est noir.
The table is black.	La table est noire.
A green pen	Un stylo vert
A green ruler	Une règle verte
A white notebook	Un cahier blanc
A white eraser	Une gomme blanche

2.5.13. Short Dialogue

A : Le sac est de quelle couleur ?	A: What colour is the bag?
B : Le sac est noir. Et la table ?	B: The bag is black. And the table?
A : La table est blanche.	A: The table is white.
B : Très bien !	B: Very good!

2.5.14. Checkpoint

By the end of this lesson, you should be able to name common colours, ask what colour something is, describe objects with colour adjectives, and recognize basic masculine and feminine colour forms.