# The paint was (of) the color green



## rightnow

> The paint was (*of*) the color green


Are both versions O.K., with and without _of_?


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## ewie

Neither is.

_The paint was green._


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## rightnow

ewie said:


> Neither is.


kidding me right?


> _when Task 1 stimulus was *the color green* _Acting Intentionally and Its Limits: Individuals, Groups, Institutions


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## Myridon

Oh my God! You found something not idiomatic using Google! That's the first time ever!


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## grassy

> w_hen Task 1 stimulus was *the color green* _Acting Intentionally and Its Limits: Individuals, Groups, Institutions


This appears to mean that the subject was supposed to react to *the color *we know as green, e.g. they showed them a green monitor screen.


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## rightnow

Myridon said:


> Oh my God! You found something not idiomatic using Google! That's the first time ever!


The paint was (of) a greenish color


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## Hermione Golightly

In descriptive writing one might find 'of a greenish colour'. In everyday spoken English we'd probably say 'the paint was greenish'.


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## rightnow

Hermione Golightly said:


> In descriptive writing one might find 'of a greenish colour'. In everyday spoken English we'd probably say 'the paint was greenish'.


but no _of_  in _The paint was (*of*) the colour _of _grass ?_


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## Hermione Golightly

Why use 'of' when it's unnecessary? Where have you seen this use  (apart from that context quoted above)?


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## duhveer

rightnow said:


> but no _of_  in _The paint was (*of*) the colour _of _grass ?_


I would say “The paint was the color of grass”


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## ewie

duhveer said:


> I would say “The paint was the color of grass”


I'd still say _The paint was green_.  Or _grass-green _if I wanted to be annoying.


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## rightnow

duhveer said:


> I would say “The paint was the color of grass”


To avoid two _of_s being too close ?


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## ewie

Hermione Golightly said:


> Why use 'of' when it's *unnecessary*?


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## duhveer

Hermione Golightly said:


> Why use 'of' when it's unnecessary? Where have you seen this use  (apart from that context quoted above)?


“Ostensive definition specifies the meaning of an expression by pointing to examples of things to which the expression applies (e.g., *green is the color of grass*, limes, lily pads, and emeralds…” 
Definition | language and philosophy


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## rightnow

Hermione Golightly said:


> Why use 'of' when it's unnecessary? Where have you seen this use  (apart from that context quoted above)?


says the native speaker of English, but ofc!


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## cidertree

What does 'oc' mean?


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## duhveer

cidertree said:


> What does 'oc' mean?


I would take a guess and say he meant to say Of course, but the abbreviation of “_of course” is OFC_.


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## cidertree

Both are new to me. I must say I'm not a fan.


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## cidertree

rightnow said:


> To avoid two _of_s being too close ?


No, the first 'of' in your sentence shouldn't be there.


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## Au101

grassy said:


> This appears to mean that the subject was supposed to react to *the color *we know as green, e.g. they showed them a green monitor screen.



Exactly. 'The colour x' isn't such an unusual construction, has anyone ever heard of _The Color Purple_?

But that's not to say it's generally idiomatic to say 'my car was of the colour purple' or anything like that. 'My car was purple.' 'The paint was green.' 'The snow was white.'

We might talk about 'the colour white', but we don't tend to use it adjectivally to describe something else. You could say 'it was white-coloured.' You could say 'it was white in colour.' You could even say 'it was coloured white' in some contexts. But we don't talk about paint being 'of the colour green' and certainly not 'the colour green'. The colour green refers to the abstract concept of green. It refers to the colour itself. It doesn't describe things as being green.


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## rightnow

Au101 said:


> Exactly. 'The colour x' isn't such an unusual construction, has anyone ever heard of _The Color Purple_?
> 
> But that's not to say it's generally idiomatic to say 'my car was of the colour purple' or anything like that. 'My car was purple.' 'The paint was green.' 'The snow was white.'
> 
> We might talk about 'the colour white', but we don't tend to use it adjectivally to describe something else. You could say 'it was white-coloured.' You could say 'it was white in colour.' You could even say 'it was coloured white' in some contexts. But we don't talk about paint being 'of the colour green' and certainly not 'the colour green'. The colour green refers to the abstract concept of green. It refers to the colour itself. It doesn't describe things as being green.


What about "_It was painted (*of*) a green color_"


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## cidertree

Nope, "it was painted a green colour." is acceptable, but it would normally be "it was painted green."

Edit: In this case, "a green colour" means *implies* that I can't say exactly _which_ green.


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## rightnow

cidertree said:


> Nope, "it was painted a green colour." is acceptable, but it would normally be "it was painted green."


Lastly, what about "it was painted green*ish*"?


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## cidertree

That's fine.


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## elroy

“The paint was the color green” is possible, but highly unlikely because everyone knows that green is a color.  “The paint was the color zaffre” is exponentially more likely, and sounds perfectly idiomatic to me.

“The paint was *of* the color green/zaffre,” on the other hand, I would say is not possible in contemporary (US) English.


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## cidertree

I'd go with "The paint was a kind of cobalty blue called zaffre."


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## elroy

cidertree said:


> I'd go with "The paint was a kind of cobalty blue called zaffre."


Well, that’s a different statement now isn’t it.   Do you have a problem with “The paint was the color zaffre”?


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## cidertree

elroy said:


> Well, that’s a different statement now isn’t it.   Do you have a problem with “The paint was the color zaffre”?


It grates a little.


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## elroy

I don’t have a problem with it.  I might even say “The paint was the color green” to a child who was still learning the basic colors.


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## cidertree

Separated by a common language...


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## Roxxxannne

elroy said:


> “The paint was the color green” is possible, but highly unlikely because everyone knows that green is a color.  “The paint was the color zaffre” is exponentially more likely, and sounds perfectly idiomatic to me.
> 
> “The paint was *of* the color green/zaffre,” on the other hand, I would say is not possible in contemporary (US) English.


I do not say "The paint was the color X."  If I'm thinking of zaffer/zaffre as a substance, I say "The paint was the color of zaffer." If it's a color, I say "The paint was zaffer."

Actually, I'd say "The paint was sapphire blue" unless I wanted to impress people with my arcane knowledge of paint colors plus etymologies.


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## elroy

Roxxxannne said:


> If it's a color, I say "The paint was zaffer."


I find "The paint was the color zaffre" appropriate if you think your interlocutor is not likely to recognize "zaffre" as a color so you want to be clear, and for whatever reason you want to use that particular name and not a different way to describe it.  There are certainly conceivable contexts where that level of precision is called for, in court for example, where the exact color of the paint may be critical to the case.


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## Hermione Golightly

'The paint was the colour of limes' is fine, if you don't like 'the paint was lime' or 'lime-coloured'.  I think we were discussing '_of _the colour of ...'. That's not usual English.


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## Roxxxannne

elroy said:


> I find "The paint was the color zaffre" appropriate if you think your interlocutor is not likely to recognize "zaffre" as a color so you want to be clear, and for whatever reason you want to use that particular name and not a different way to describe it.  There are certainly conceivable contexts where that level of precision is called for, in court for example, where the exact color of the paint may be critical to the case.


 Please God don't make me a juror on that case.


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## ewie

elroy said:


> I find "The paint was the color zaffre" appropriate if you think your interlocutor is not likely to recognize "zaffre" as a color


*Elroy: *_I've done my living-room in the color zaffre._
*Ewie *[blank stare; silence; another blank stare]: _Erm ... saffron? ... sulphur? ... okay, I give in. Give me a clue ~ but make it a good clue.  _


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## Roxxxannne

(Are you up past your bedtime?)


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## Northern Monkey

Might be "The paint was the colour of green" but generally "The paint was green".


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## elroy

Northern Monkey said:


> Might be "The paint was the colour of green"


Never!


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## Au101

elroy said:


> Never!



Although, "the colour of the paint was green" does work well.


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## SwissPete

Doesn't paint have a color by definition?


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## rightnow

Au101 said:


> Although, "the colour of the paint was green" does work well.


what alternative would you use then in "the color of the paint (I bought/chose) was ______" ?


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## elroy

rightnow said:


> what alternative would you use then in "the color of the paint (I bought/chose) was ______" ?


An alternative to what?


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## Au101

rightnow said:


> what alternative would you use then in "the color of the paint (I bought/chose) was ______" ?



As I say, I think 'the colour of the paint I bought was green' does work.

It's still a little bit of a weird sentence, I can't easily imagine you'd hear it in the wild, you'd be much more likely to say 'I bought/got/chose green paint', or you might have a conversation like:

A: 'What colour paint did you buy?'
B: 'Green.'

But it's fine, it's just not the kind of thing you're very likely to say, any more than 'the age of my sister is 20' or 'the temperature of the room is 19 degrees', or 'the flavour of the crisps is salt and vinegar'.


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## Northern Monkey

elroy said:


> Never!


Might go well on one of those horrendous 1970s songs though. To make it even more excruciating.


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## Loob

I'm having trouble working out what your question is, rightnow.

So far we have:
Post 1
_The paint was of the color green        
vs
The paint was the color green   _
Post 6
_The paint was of a greenish color       
vs
The paint was a greenish color _
Post 8
_The paint was of the colour of grass       
vs
The paint was the colour of grass_
Post 21
_It was painted of a green color       
vs
It was painted a green color_
Post 23_ 
it was painted greenish _
Post 42
_the color of the paint (I bought/chose) was ______ 
_


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## elroy

Northern Monkey said:


> Might go well on one of those horrendous 1970s songs though. To make it even more excruciating.


"the color of green" doesn't make any sense.  Green doesn't have a color; it _is_ a color.


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