'Blue' is the colour; 'blew' is the past tense of 'to blow'.
Adjective/noun. The colour of the sky and ocean. Also: sad or melancholy ('feeling blue'). Also: adult/risqué ('blue comedy').
The sky turned a deep, brilliant blue after the storm passed.
She felt a little blue on her first day at the new job — she missed her old colleagues.
The police cars had flashing blue lights on the roof.
Verb. Simple past of 'to blow': wind blowing, playing an instrument, or wasting money. Blow, blew, blown.
The wind blew the papers off the desk and across the office.
He blew the presentation — he was completely unprepared.
The fuse blew when she plugged in the old air conditioning unit.
Common mistake
"The wind blue strongly last night" when meaning past of blow (correct: blew). Or "He blew his blue savings on the deal" — 'blew' is correct here (wasted), 'blue' would be wrong.
Trick to remember it
'Blue' ends in UE like 'true', 'clue', 'glue' — fixed, stable things. 'Blew' ends in EW like 'grew', 'threw', 'flew' — all past tenses of irregular verbs that start with motion.
Quick rule
Is it the colour or the feeling of sadness? 'Blue'. Is it the past of blow? 'Blew'.
Did you know?
'Out of the blue' (completely unexpected) comes from the image of a lightning bolt from a clear blue sky — impossibility made real. 'Feeling blue' may originate from old maritime tradition: ships that lost their captain would fly blue flags (true) and paint a blue stripe along the hull when returning to port — a signal of mourning. The music genre 'the blues' crystallised this connection between blue and sadness in American culture from the 1800s onward.
Exercise 1 · Pick the right one
A strong gust _____ the display stand over during the outdoor exhibition.
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
The new office walls were painted a soft, calming shade of _____ .
Exercise 3 · Form the word
Is it the colour or the feeling of sadness? 'Blue'. Is it the past of blow? 'Blew'.
"The wind blue strongly last night" when meaning past of blow (correct: blew). Or "He blew his blue savings on the deal" — 'blew' is correct here (wasted), 'blue' would be wrong.
'Blue' ends in UE like 'true', 'clue', 'glue' — fixed, stable things. 'Blew' ends in EW like 'grew', 'threw', 'flew' — all past tenses of irregular verbs that start with motion.
Bryan López
Founder of SpeakUP Academy