Color words
Color words are describing words. They tell the reader what color something is.
- red, blue, yellow, green
- black, white, brown, grey
- orange, purple, pink, gold
“Leo found a brown rock.”
Without the color word you would picture any rock at all.
Shape words
Shape words tell you what shape something is.
- round, flat, square, straight
- curved, pointy, thin, wide
“Ava drew a round face.”
Two describing words about one thing
You can use a color word and a shape word together.
“a round blue plate”
Both words tell you about the plate. One tells the shape and one tells the color.
| Phrase | Shape | Color |
|---|---|---|
| a flat grey stone | flat | grey |
| a straight black line | straight | black |
| a round red apple | round | red |
A mistake to watch for
Some words look like they are about color and are not.
“Orange” can be a color or a fruit. In “an orange sock” it tells the color. In “I ate an orange” it names a thing.
Look at what the word is doing in that sentence, not at the word by itself.
Your turn
Say color or shape.
- “a flat rock”
- “a yellow bus”
- “a pointy hat”
- “a purple crayon”
Check your answers
- Shape.
- Color.
- Shape.
- Color.
Remember
- Color words and shape words are both describing words.
- You can use one of each about the same thing.
- A word like orange can name a thing in one sentence and describe in another.