The leaves on that tree are a beautiful colour.

[Don Karnage]

to be + noun instead of adjective

Dear teachers,
I've found very interesting sentence in one English handbook, but it contradicts with everything I knew before:
"The leaves on that tree are a beautiful colour".
Here, the word "colour" is a noun. Isn't it more correctly to say "the leaves on that tree HAVE a beautiful colour"?
Maybe it is just an unpopular construction, but it is gramatically correct, so we can say in a similar way, for example:
1) This boy is a nice bicycle.
2) This girl is long hair.

 

[5jj]

Please give us the title and author of the handbook. this is a forum requirement..

 

[Don Karnage]

Please give us the title and author of the handbook. this is a forum requirement..

"English grammar in Use". Raymond Murphy.

 

[5jj]

Here, the word "colour" is a noun. Isn't it more correctly to say "the leaves on that tree HAVE a beautiful colour"?

No, the original is fine as it is.

1) This boy is a nice bicycle.
2) This girl is long hair.

These are incorrect. You need 'has'.

 

[Don Karnage]

No, the original is fine as it is.

These are incorrect. you need 'has'.

So, these are features of using the word "colour", or this is some special form of constructing a sentence? I've read a lot of literature in English, but I'm sure I've never encountered anything like this.

 

[jutfrank]

It's particular to colours, as far as I know. Yes, it's an odd case.

The leaves are ________ .

You're better off taking a semantic (not syntactic) analysis of this. Think of what fills the blank as a description of the leaves, whether that's in the form of an adjective phrase or a noun phrase.

The leaves are bright red.
The leaves are a bright red.

These are semantically equivalent though the grammar is different.

 

[Don Karnage]

It's particular to colours, as far as I know. Yes, it's an odd case.

The leaves are ________ .

You're better off taking a semantic (not syntactic) analysis of this. Think of what fills the blank as a description of the leaves, whether that's in the form of an adjective phrase or a noun phrase.

The leaves are bright red.
The leaves are a bright red.

These are semantically equivalent though the grammar is different.

Yes, I was trying to think in this way, that's why my sentence "This girl is long hair" looks correct too (but not that one with "bicycle"). Your examples ("bright red") are easier to understand, probably because they contain adjectives. Maybe, it is necessary to be a native speaker to feel it (or just hear some phrases very often, like "he is 65" or "he is 65 years old", so that they are not looking strange anymore).

Additionally, I did't understand, could I just use "HAVE" in the initial example? @5jj answer "No, the original is fine as it is" is unclear in this sense. As I can see, there are many examples in Internet with "have...colours".

 

[emsr2d2]

"English Grammar in Use".

 

[jutfrank]

Yes, I was trying to think in this way, that's why my sentence "This girl is long hair" looks correct too (but not that one with "bicycle").

I don't follow what you mean. In what way does This girl is long hair look correct?

What you're obviously trying to say there is This girl has long hair, where the verb has express a state of possession.

Your examples ("bright red") are easier to understand, probably because they contain adjectives. Maybe, it is necessary to be a native speaker to feel it (or just hear some phrases very often, like "he is 65" or "he is 65 years old", so that they are not looking strange anymore).

Additionally, I did't understand, could I just use "HAVE" in the initial example? @5jj

Yes, you can. Yes, it is possible to use possessive 'have' with colours, but only in noun phrases, typically of the pattern a ______ colour. Here:

It has red.
It has a red colour.
It has a nice colour.

answer "No, the original is fine as it is" is unclear in this sense. As I can see, there are many examples in Internet with "have...colours".

5jj was answering directly your question, which was "Isn't it more correctly to say "the leaves on that tree HAVE a beautiful colour"?" The answer to that is no.

 

[Rover_KE]

What aspect of English is being covered in the textbook (it’s not a handbook)?

 

[Don Karnage]

I don't follow what you mean. In what way does This girl is long hair look correct?

What you're obviously trying to say there is This girl has long hair, where the verb has express a state of possession.

No, I meant that looking at "The leaves on that tree are a beautiful colour" and considering it as you suggested ("You're better off taking a semantic (not syntactic) analysis of this. Think of what fills the blank as a description of the leaves, whether that's in the form of an adjective phrase or a noun phrase." ) it seems to mee that "This girl is long hair" is correct too ("long hair" sounds like adjective, just like"beautiful colour"). But it is wrong. So this way of thinking doesn't work (at least for not experts in English). As you said "It's particular to colours, as far as I know. Yes, it's an odd case.", so, probably, it is better just to remember this particular odd phrase, not trying to construct others in the same way, just use the verb "have" and it will be OK.

All the rest is clear. Thak you for your help and such a detailed response.

 

[emsr2d2]

If you're trying to emulate the construction of "The leaves on that tree are a beautiful colour" but talking about a girl's hair, you have to say (the very unnatural) "The hair on that girl is long". (Note that "hair" in this context is uncountable so attracts a singular verb.)

 

[Tarheel]

@Don Karnage Please stop saying "This girl is long hair". It might look right to you, but I guarantee you that no native speaker would ever say that.

 

[Don Karnage]

If you're trying to emulate the construction of "The leaves on that tree are a beautiful colour" but talking about a girl's hair, you have to say (the very unnatural) "The hair on that girl is long". (Note that "hair" in this context is uncountable so attracts a singular verb.)

Exactly, emulating. But, I'm trying to emulate the construction unchanged.
Construction: Subject + to be + adjective + noun. (The leaves are beautiful colour).
Original sentence: "The leaves are beautiful colour" ("on the tree" is excessive)
Emulated sentances:
1) The boy is nice height. (tall, nice, beautiful - it doesn't matter for the example).
2) The girl is heavy weight.
3) The girl is long hair.
And so on.
As we can see, this construction (Subject + to be + adjective + noun) doesn't always work. As I can understand, it works only with "colour". That is the main idea of this topic.

 

[emsr2d2]

Exactly, emulating. But, I'm trying to emulate the construction unchanged.
Construction: Subject + to be + adjective + noun. (The leaves are beautiful colour).
Original sentence: "The leaves are beautiful colour" ("on the tree" is excessive)
Emulated sentances:
1) The boy is nice height. (tall, nice, beautiful - it doesn't matter for the example).
2) The girl is heavy weight.
3) The girl is long hair.
And so on.
As we can see, this construction (Subject + to be + adjective + noun) doesn't always work. As I can understand, it works only with "colour". That is the main idea of this topic.

It doesn't work only with colour.

That car is a great shape.
The trees are a beautiful colour.
This dress is the perfect size.
That plant is an impressive height.

"The boy is a nice height" is grammatical but meaningless.
"The girl is heavy weight" is ungrammatical. You could say "The girl is heavy in weight" but no native speaker would ever say that. We'd simply say "The girl is heavy". (Bear in mind that we don't comment on people's weight these days. It's rude.)
"The girl is long hair" simply makes no sense. The girl isn't hair of any kind. She HAS hair. What kind of hair does she have? Long.

 

[Tarheel]

You could say:

The car is in great shape.

I wouldn't use the other one.

 

[emsr2d2]

You could say:

The car is in great shape.

I wouldn't use the other one.

Did you mean you wouldn't use my "That car is a great shape"? If so, and just to clarify, I wasn't using "shape" to mean "condition".

 

[Don Karnage]

It doesn't work only with colour.

That car is a great shape.
The trees are a beautiful colour.
This dress is the perfect size.
That plant is an impressive height.

"The boy is a nice height" is grammatical but meaningless.
"The girl is heavy weight" is ungrammatical. You could say "The girl is heavy in weight" but no native speaker would ever say that. We'd simply say "The girl is heavy". (Bear in mind that we don't comment on people's weight these days. It's rude.)
"The girl is long hair" simply makes no sense. The girl isn't hair of any kind. She HAS hair. What kind of hair does she have? Long.

Great. Thank you for these examples. Now it is becoming more and more interesting. I'll memorize these examples, but I assume in other cases the rule of thumb is: "If you are not sure, use 'have' ".

 

[Tarheel]

Did you mean you wouldn't use my "That car is a great shape"? If so, and just to clarify, I wasn't using "shape" to mean "condition".

That's right. I wouldn't know what that means. I don't know what it means to say a car is a shape.

 

[tedmc]

It doesn't work only with colour.

That car is a great shape.
The trees are a beautiful colour.
This dress is the perfect size.
That plant is an impressive height.

I have seen such usage where a noun is equated to an attribute, e.g.
The shoes are a great fit.
The girl is a great beauty.

It has nothing to do with grammar and defies logic. It doesn't follow any structure or pattern.
How can a tree be a colour? How can a car be a shape? Who is to say which noun works with which attribute?