ESEN
Which one to use?Beginneradjective / nounverb (past tense)
BluevsBlew
'Blue' is the colour; 'blew' is the past tense of 'to blow'.
Side-by-side comparison
Blue
adjective / noun"Blue" is the color. It can also express sadness: "feeling blue" means feeling sad or down.
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.
Blew
verb (past tense)"Blew" is the past tense of "blow": to send air. "The wind blew" = the wind blew. It has nothing to do with color.
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 through the trees" is wrong: the irregular past of "blow" is "blew".
- •"Blue" is only the color or the expression of sadness.
Trick to remember it
- •"Blue" ends in UE like "true", "glue", "clue": fixed, stable things like a color.
- •"Blew" ends in EW like "grew", "threw", "flew": irregular past tenses of motion verbs.
Quick rule
- •"Blue" = the color or the feeling of sadness.
- •"Blew" = the past tense of "blow" (to blow, sound, or squander).
Did you know?
"Out of the blue" (completely unexpected) comes from the image of something falling from a clear blue sky, the most impossible surprise in a calm day. "Feeling blue" may originate from maritime tradition: ships flew blue flags when returning to port in mourning for a lost captain. The music genre "the blues" crystallised this connection between blue and sadness in African American culture from the 1800s onward.
Practise what you learned
Exercise 1 · Pick the right one
The wind _____ her hat off and it landed in the fountain.
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
The sky was a perfect shade of _____ without a single cloud.
Exercise 3 · Form the word
Related word pairs
AcceptvsExcept
One means to receive or agree to something, the other means to exclude or not include.
AdvicevsAdvise
'Advice' is the guidance you receive (noun); 'advise' is the act of giving that guidance (verb).
AffectvsEffect
'Affect' is the verb meaning to influence something; 'effect' is the noun meaning result or consequence.
AislevsIsle
'Aisle' is the walkway between rows of seats or shelves; 'isle' is a small island.
Bryan López
Founder of SpeakUP Academy