Catch a cold means to get ill with a cold. Cold here means the illness: a runny nose, a cough, a sore throat. The version without the article, catch cold, also exists, but with a it sounds more usual. People often add who they caught it from: catch a cold from someone.
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catch a cold (from + person); caught (past); have a cold / have got a cold (BrE); catch cold
- I caught a cold on the plane and spent the first day of my holiday in bed.
- Put a hat on before you go out, or you'll catch a cold.
- Half the office caught a cold after the team-building weekend.
What changed
First versionI think I'm getting cold: my throat is sore and I keep sneezing.
RevisionI think I'm catching a cold: my throat is sore and I keep sneezing.
Because the illness is called a cold, it is easy to say I'm getting cold. But cold without an article means low temperature, so the sentence means I'm starting to feel chilly, and the listener won't realise you are falling ill. The illness is a cold, with the article, and the start of it is described with catch: I'm catching a cold. I'm getting a cold is also possible, but again with the article.
Catch a cold describes the moment you fell ill: I caught a cold last week. Have a cold means you are ill now: I have a cold, so I'm working from home. And I'm cold simply means you feel cold, with no illness at all.
Your turn
I ___ from my son, who brought it home from school.
Show the answer
caught a cold — It in the second half is the cold that your son brought home from school. So you caught it from him: caught a cold. Got cold means you became chilly, and then it has nothing to refer to.
Write to a colleague explaining why you are working from home today: say where you caught a cold and how you feel.
I think I caught a cold at the football match on Saturday, so I'm working from home today: I've got a sore throat and a headache.
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