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Chenyincheng Posted 16 years ago
Grammar
Describing colours
Hi guys,
If something is single coloured. We say, for example: The sky is blue. Does the rule also apply to something with multiple colours?
Something felt odd to me and I don't know what it was when I said the following sentence:
A rainbow is red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet.
Thanks a lot!
If something is single coloured. We say, for example: The sky is blue. Does the rule also apply to something with multiple colours?
Something felt odd to me and I don't know what it was when I said the following sentence:
A rainbow is red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet.
Thanks a lot!
Top answer
There is nothing odd about your sentence.
- There is nothing odd about your sentence.
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5 Answers
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chenyincheng,
The sky is blue -ok
The sky is dark -ok
The weather condition changes the color of the sky.
Rainbow on the other hand is known to come out only when the sun comes out after the rain, and it contains 7 colors naturally.
So there is no need to specify the colors.
The sky is blue -ok
The sky is dark -ok
The weather condition changes the color of the sky.
Rainbow on the other hand is known to come out only when the sun comes out after the rain, and it contains 7 colors naturally.
So there is no need to specify the colors.
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Of course you wouldn't do it every time you see a rainbow, but there are certainly contexts in which it would be appropriate to list the colors of a rainbow.
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chenyinchengA rainbow is red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet.This is fine. All of the following are also fine.
My shirt is white and blue.
Jane's car is red and black.
The American flag is red, white, and blue.
CJ
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It may be worth pointing out that plural nouns paired with plural colors can be ambiguous.
If there are 20 rugby players, and 10 are wearing blue shirts and 10 are wearing yellow shirts, you could say "Their shirts were blue and yellow." Unfortunately, if there are 20 rugby players and each is wearing a shirt of yellow and blue, you could say "Their shirts were blue and yellow."
If there are 20 rugby players, and 10 are wearing blue shirts and 10 are wearing yellow shirts, you could say "Their shirts were blue and yellow." Unfortunately, if there are 20 rugby players and each is wearing a shirt of yellow and blue, you could say "Their shirts were blue and yellow."
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