[Originally posted on 12/13/18 on the Duolingo French for English speakers forum by Sitesurf]
Colors can be both nouns and adjectives. As nouns, colors are usually masculine.
- Le rose. — The pink.
As adjectives, they agree with the nouns they modify except in two cases. First, colors derived from nouns (e.g. fruits, flowers, or gems) tend to be invariable with gender and number. Orange (“orange”) and marron (“brown”) are the most common examples.
- La jupe orange — The orange skirt
- Les jupes orange — The orange skirts
- Les chiens marron — The brown dogs
Second, in compound adjectives (les adjectifs composés) made up of two adjectives, both adjectives remain in their masculine singular forms.
- Sa couleur est vert pomme. — Its color is apple-green.
- J’aime les robes rose clair. — I like light-pink dresses.
Most colors that end in -e in their masculine forms are invariable with gender.
- Un chapeau rouge — A red hat
- Une jupe rouge — A red skirt
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