{"id":71,"date":"2017-06-18T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-06-18T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/log.cudoo.com\/2018\/03\/11\/how-colorful-is-your-english\/"},"modified":"2022-10-12T16:33:22","modified_gmt":"2022-10-12T12:33:22","slug":"how-colorful-is-your-english","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cudoo.com\/blog\/how-colorful-is-your-english\/","title":{"rendered":"How Colorful is Your English?"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

Add color to your language and sound like a native speaker!<\/p>\n

A primary means of describing any object is to talk about its color. It immediately paints an image of the object in the mind\u2019s eye and allows for more creative expression during a dialogue. However, the real challenge is to go beyond the monotony of the reds, blues and yellows to really describe an object using a specific, nuanced color.<\/p>\n

Make sure your English is red hot, with our quick\u00a0guide to how colors are used in the English language, including examples and idioms so you get the picture.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

1. “Color” and “Colour”<\/span><\/h2>\n

Both words mean the same thing, with the spelling depending on the country where it is written. \u201cColor\u201d is used in the United States, while \u201cColour\u201d is used in most other English speaking countries (U.K., Australia, etc). In the same way, \u201cgray\u201d and \u201cgrey\u201d describe the same color but are spelt differently based on the country where it is written.<\/p>\n

2. Word Order with Colors<\/span><\/h2>\n

Colors are considered adjectives in the English language, as they are used to describe people or things. Color can therefore be used in sentences in different ways:<\/p>\n

The color adjective goes before the verb. Example, \u201cHe drives a blue car\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

Color adjectives can be used in am\/is\/are sentences. Example, \u201cThe car is blue\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

3. Shades<\/span><\/h2>\n

Colors in English can be discussed based on their shade (or intensity), with “light” being the opposite of “dark”, and “bright” describing a color that is easy to see. The words “light”, “dark” and “bright” are placed before the color, for example:<\/p>\n

“She has dark brown eyes.”<\/span><\/p>\n

“Her bright pink lipstick doesn\u2019t look good.”<\/p>\n

Following is a list of shades for common colors:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Red<\/strong> \u2013 lilac, mauve, violet, purple, pink, magenta, scarlet, burgundy, crimson.<\/p>\n

\"red<\/p>\n

Blue<\/strong> \u2013 sky blue, azure, baby blue, cerulean, denim, indigo, navy, turquoise.<\/p>\n

Green<\/strong> \u2013 emerald, sage, mint, citrus, cyan.<\/p>\n

\"Blue<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Black<\/strong> \u2013 silver, gold, slate grey, charcoal, jet black.<\/p>\n

White<\/strong> \u2013 cream, beige, champagne, ivory.<\/p>\n

\"Black<\/p>\n

4. Colorful idioms<\/span><\/h2>\n

An idiom is a set phrase or an expression having a meaning not deducible from the individual words. Following is a list of common idiomatic expressions in the English language using colors:<\/p>\n

Off-color<\/strong> – not feeling very well.\u00a0 Example: \u201cI didn\u2019t go to the gym last night as I was feeling a bit off-color\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"barf-2025163_960_720.png\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

With flying colors<\/strong> – to pass something with excellent results.<\/p>\n

Example: \u201cHe passed his exams with flying colors\u201d.<\/p>\n

Out of the blue<\/strong> – surprising and unexpected.<\/p>\n

Example: \u201cHe arrived completely out of the blue. What a surprise\u201d.<\/p>\n

Green with envy<\/strong> – very jealous.<\/p>\n

Example: \u201cMy friend is going to Paris. I\u2019m green with envy!\u201d<\/p>\n

\"green<\/p>\n

Gray area<\/strong> – something that is not clear.<\/p>\n

Example: \u201cThe use of social media in our office is a bit of a gray area.\u201d<\/p>\n

White lie<\/strong> – a small lie to avoid hurting someone\u2019s feelings.<\/p>\n

Example: \u201cI hated her present but told a white lie, because it was so sweet of her to remember my birthday.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tickled pink<\/strong> – really pleased about something.<\/p>\n

Example: \u201cI was tickled pink when I came first in the race.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Tinkled<\/p>\n

\n

Golden opportunity<\/strong> – great chance to achieve something.<\/p>\n

Example: \u201cWhen the trip came up, it was a golden opportunity to practice my Spanish.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Red hot<\/strong> – something that is new and exciting.<\/p>\n

Example: \u201cCome with us. This new band is red hot!\u201d<\/p>\n

To see red<\/strong> – to react with uncontrollable rage or anger.<\/p>\n

Example: \u201cWhen they lost my keys, I saw red.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"to<\/p>\n

\n

Hopefully, you will be tickled pink with your new words for colors in English! For more tips, check out\u00a050 Very Useful Adjectives in English<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  Add color to your language and sound like a native speaker! A primary means of describing any object is to talk about its color. It immediately paints an image of the object in the mind\u2019s eye and allows for more creative expression during a dialogue. However, the real challenge is to go beyond the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":37,"featured_media":504,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[880,5762,2691,5759,5760,56,798,173,5763,5766,5764,5761,54,5768,5767,765,5757,5758,5765,60],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cudoo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cudoo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cudoo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cudoo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/37"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cudoo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/cudoo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7651,"href":"https:\/\/cudoo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71\/revisions\/7651"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cudoo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/504"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cudoo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cudoo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cudoo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cudoo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=71"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}