Basic Colors in French and Introduction to Adjectives

In this lesson we study color adjectives in French. We will see how to agree adjectives, exceptions and we will do a translation exercise.

french pdf lesson grammar free


Objectives:

  1. Vocabulary list
  2. The color adjective and the agreement with the noun
  3. The exceptions
  4. Practical exercises

1. Basic Colors and Their Forms in French

Here’s a table showing the masculine and feminine forms of basic colors in French, along with their English translations:

Color (English) Masculine (French) Feminine (French) Notes
Red rouge rouge
Blue bleu bleue
Green vert verte
Yellow jaune jaune
Black noir noire
White blanc blanche
Gray gris grise
Pink rose rose
Brown marron marron ⚠️ invariable
Orange orange orange ⚠️ invariable

2. Agreement of Adjectives

Reminder: In French, adjectives agree in gender and number with the noun.
For example, if the noun is feminine plural, the adjective that refers to it is also feminine plural.

📌  un petit chat : chat is masculine singular, petit is also masculine singular
📌  une petite voiture : voiture is feminine singular, petit is also feminine singular.
This rule also applies to color adjectives.

Examples

  • Le chien noir                     The black dog
  • La voiture verte               The green car
  • Les stylos bleus                The blue pens
  • Les maisons blanches    The white houses

⚠️ but :

Please note: “orange” and “brown” are invariable.

  • Les voitures orange. ( les voitures oranges )
  • La voiture marron.    ( les voitures marrons )

Practice Exercise

Describe objects using the appropriate form of color adjectives. Remember to adjust the adjective to match the gender and number of the noun. For example:

  • Le ciel est bleu.              The sky is blue.
  • Les fleurs sont roses. The flowers are pink.

🍀 PRACTICE 🍀


Translation : Here is a translation exercise to practice colors in French.

Translate into English:

  1. Le chien noir.
  2. Des chiens blancs.
  3. Une maison bleue.
  4. Des maisons rouges.
  5. Une table blanche et une chaise verte.

answers

  1. The black dog.
  2. White dogs.
  3. A blue house.
  4. Red houses.
  5. A white table and a green chair.

Translate into French :

  1. A gray cat.
  2. A red apple.
  3. Pink books.
  4. A brown car. ⚠️
  5. Orange flowers. ⚠️

answers

  1. Un chat gris.
  2. Une pomme rouge.
  3. Des livres roses.
  4. Une voiture marron.
  5. Des fleurs orange.


Keywords : colors in French