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Saturday, December 28, 2019
Invariable French Adjectives
In French, adjectives normally have to agree with the nouns they modify in gender and number. However, there are numerous adjectives which dont agree - they have a single form that does not change to reflect the gender or number of the noun. These are called invariable adjectives. Invariable Color Adjectives French color adjectives derived from nouns, such as animals, flowers, fruits, gems, and metals, are usually invariable:amarante     amaranthine (dark purple-red)ardoise     slate-greyargent     silveraubergine     eggplantauburn     auburnbrique     brick-redcanari     canary yellowcaramel     caramel-coloredcarmin     carminecerise     cherry redchair     flesh-coloredchampagne     champagnechocolat     chocolate-browncitron     lemon-yellowcrà ¨me     cream-coloredemeraude     emerald greengrenat     garnetindigo     indigokaki     khakilavande     lavenderlilas     lilacmarine     navy bluemarron     brownnoisette     hazelocr e     ochreolive     olive-greenor     goldorange     orangepastel     pastelpervenche     periwinklepie     (magpie) - piebald, black and whitepistache     pistachio-greenplatine     platinumprune     plumpuce     (flea) - pucerouille     rust-coloredrubis     ruby redsable     sandy, sand-coloredsafran     saffron-coloredsaphir     sapphire-bluesaumon     salmon-pinktabac     tobacco brownturquoise     turquoisevermillon     vermilionExceptions:  alezan (chestnut), fauve (tawny/fawn), incarnat (rosy), mauve, pourpre (crimson), rose (pink), vermeil (vermillion),and violet are variable according to the normal rules of agreement chà ¢tain (chestnut brown) is semi-invariable - it usually agrees in number, but rarely in gender Multiple Colors When two or more colors describe a noun, they may or may not agree:1) If there are items of each individual color, the adjectives agree:  des drapeaux bleus, blancs, rouges - red, white, and blue flags (some are red, some are white, and some are blue)des chapeaux rouges et noirs - red and black hats (some are red and some are black) 2) If each item has all of the colors, the adjectives are invariable des drapeaux bleu, blanc, rouge - red, white, and blue flags (e.g., French flags)des chapeaux rouge et noir - red and black hats This is one instance where agreement is useful, because it gives you more detail than what is available in the English translation. Compound Colors When adjectives of color are modified by another adjective or a noun, the adjectives are invariable:une jupe gris clair     light gray skirtdes gants violet foncà ©Ã‚     dark purple glovesune couleur rouge-orange     reddish-orange colordes yeux bleu-vert     blue-green eyesune voiture vert pomme     apple-green cardes fleurs rouge tomate     tomato-red flowers Adjectives Borrowed From Other Languages French adjectives borrowed from other languages are usually invariable:ad hoc     ad hoca priori     a prioriantitrust     anti-trustbaby     babybeat     beatnikcantilever     cantilevercharter     chartercheap     cheap (poor quality)clean     cleancool     coolcurriculum vitae     curriculum vitae, rà ©sumà ©dance     related to dance musicdesign     designerdestroy     destroyed, trashed, wildexpress     related to espressofahrenheit     Fahrenheitfree-lance     freelancefun     funfunky     funkfurax     furiousglamour     glamorousgold     gold(en)gore     gorygratis     freegroggy     groggyhalal     halal (in accordance with sharia principles)hi-fi     hi-fihigh-tech     high-techhot     hot (jazz)kascher     kosher (in accordance with Judaic principles)kitsch     kitschindoor     indoorinuit     Inuitjazzy     jazz, related to jazzkif-kif     same, identicalkitsch     kitschlambda     averge, typicallight     light, low in caloriesmarengo     Marengooffset     offsetoffshore     offshoreout     out of touch, (tennis) outpeople     celebritypop     pop (music, art)pro forma     pro formapunk     punkrecord     recordrelax     relaxed, informal, laid backrevolving     revolvingselect     select, high-clas s, poshsexy     sexysnob     snobby, snobbishsolo     solosoul     soul (music)sport     casual, athletic (clothes, shoes)spot     (economics) spotstandard     standardstand-by     stand-bysterling     (pound) sterlingtango     bright orangetop     great, besttrash     trashy, base, tastelessvaudou     voodoovidà ©o     videowaterproof     waterproofzen     Zen
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