Study the sentences given below:

(a) They looked like black mountains.

(b) Inside the clouds, everything was suddenly black.

(c) In the black clouds near me, I saw another aero plane.

(d) The strange black aero plane was there.

The word ‘black’ in sentences (a) and (c) refer to a very dark colour i.e. the colour of the clouds mentioned in both these sentences.

Whereas

In sentences (b) and (d) it means lack of light or without light.

Thus, the word ‘Black’ has a variety of meanings in different contexts.

Now, consider the following sentences for example:

(a) ‘I prefer black tea’ means ‘I prefer tea without milk’.

(b) ‘With increasing pollution the future of the world is Black ‘which means ‘with increasing pollution the future of the world is very depressing/without hope.”

In sentence (a) the person is conveying his preference by saying that he prefers Black Tea which is a Tea without milk.

Whereas

In sentence (b) the person is conveying the hazards of pollution which is making the future of the world Black. By using the word black here, he is referring to the bleak and depressing future of the world.

Consider the following sentences and guess the meanings.

1. Go and have a bath; your hands and face are absolutely black…………………

2. The taxi-driver gave Ratan a black look as he crossed the road when the traffic light was green……………………….

3. The bombardment of Hiroshima is one of the blackest crimes against humanity. …………….

4. Very few people enjoyed Harold Pinter’s black comedy. ……………………..

5. Sometimes shopkeepers store essential goods to create false scarcity and then sell these in black…………………..

6. Villagers had beaten the criminal black and blue. ………………………