Format Cell Based on Data in Another Cell

I am trying to set up my spreadsheet so that depending on what text is entered in column A, Column B is populated with specific text also (that is not the same as the data in Column A)
For example,
Column A may have "Apple" or "Pear"
In Column B I want it to reflect that "Apple" is "Red" and "Pear" is "Green"
But i do not want the color, i want the text to actually read "Red" or "Green" in column B.

Thank you for your assistance

If I understand your request correctly then you need a separate table (D1:E4 in the picture below) that relates fruit to colour.

lookupTable.png

The formula in column-B then looks up the correct colour based on the particular fruit in col-A. I refined it a little to return "Unknown" if the fruit is not present in the D2:E4 lookup table.
The formula in in B2 copied down is:

Formula:

Please Login or Register  to view this content.

Thank you for your help. I have been playing around with the VLOOKUP function and it doesnt seem to work well with me. You did understand the basis of my question, however, I think the VLOOKUP may be a bit too advanced for me at the present. If you have a link with detailed instructions on how to use the VLOOKUP I would greatly appreciate the help.

Excel's built in help isn't a bad place to start.

If you could explain specifically what is not working for you when you try to use VLOOKUP then perhaps we can provide more specific help.