148 practice makes perfect French Vocabulary
violâtre purplish
violet(te) purpleMa jupe violette va bien avec ce My violet skirt goes well with this green shirt.
chemisier vert.
J’ai besoin de deux pulls; passe-moi le I need two sweaters; pass me the gray one and
gris et le noir. the black one.Th e suffi x -âtre added to a color corresponds to the English suffi x -ish. Colors that end in a
mute -e lose that -e.Cette chemise est si vieille qu’elle est Th is shirt is so old that it became yellowish.
devenue jaunâtre.
Je ne peux pas décider si c’est rougeâtre I cannot decide whether it is reddish or
ou brunâtre. brownish.When including such nuances as light and dark to colors, the adjectives clair (light), foncé
(dark), pâle (pale), and vif (bright) are oft en added to the color. In that case, the entire hyphenated
color structure is invariable and remains in the masculine form regardless of the gender and
number of the noun the color describes. Compare the following sentences, and note how the
color bleu-clair stays in the masculine form even though it describes the feminine noun robe.La robe est bleue. Th e dress is blue.
La robe est bleu-clair. Th e dress is light blue.15 · 2
EXERCICEDe quelle couleur est-ce? What is its color? Circle the letter of the most likely color for
each item.- Le ruby est...
a. rouge b. bleu- Ses yeux sont...
a. marron b. argent- Elle a la peau...
a. rougeâtre b. verdâtre- Ce café est très... Il y a trop
de lait dedans.
a. foncé b. clair- Le ciel est... Il va pleuvoir.
a. bleuâtre b. grisâtre- La neige fraîche est...
a. noire b. blanche- M a m a i s o n e s t...
a. unicolore b. multicolore- La robe de la petite fi lle est...
a. rose bonbon b. noirâtre