[General] To catch a cold. To have a cold.

[vil]

Dear teachers,

Would you be kind enough to confirm my allegation that there is a considerable difference between the meanings of the following at first sight similar phrases?

To catch a cold.

To have a cold.

I think I have good reason to utter the stated above on the basis of the parsing of following sentence:

“When I have a cold the person who is living with me will catch a cold also.”

Thank you for your efforts.

Regards,

V.

[naomimalan]

Originally Posted by vil

Dear teachers,

Would you be kind enough to confirm my allegation that there is a considerable difference between the meanings of the following at first sight similar phrases?

To catch a cold.

To have a cold.

I think I have good reason to utter the stated above on the basis of the parsing of following sentence:

“When I have a cold the person who is living with me will catch a cold also.”

Thank you for your efforts.

Regards,

V.

In the sentence you give, yes, there is a difference. In some contexts though, they will mean more or less the same thing.

I'm feeling rotten, I have a cold.
I'm feeling rotten, I've caught a cold.