vilijaba
Is it ok to say "I'm having cold"? My English teacher seems to be pretty sure that the continuous form of "have" is ok in the sentence "I'm having cold". However, I believe that in this sentence "have" is a state verb, which means it can't have the continuous form. Is there any chance that the -ing form could be correct?
2011년 5월 21일 오후 4:02
답변 · 6
1
I don't know if you mean a feeling of cold, or if you mean a sickness. In English, it only makes sense "to have a cold". As for a static verb, yes your guess is correct here but "have" is not always a static verb because it is used to signify other actions, eg. to have breakfast, or to have a shower. In these cases "I'm having breakfast/a shower" is perfectly acceptable because you can visualise the action (the basic rule to dynamic verbs). If you say "I'm having a cold" (ie. sickness), then that implies your illness is deliberate and it is welcome, much in the same way one could say "I'm having guests". Hope this helps.
2011년 5월 21일
It is more common to say: I have a cold/ I've caught a cold/I've got the flu
2011년 5월 22일
I have caught a cold!
2011년 5월 21일
You are right. It doesn't matter whether the verb is state or not. Many state verbs can be used in continuous tenses but when we speak about diseases the verb "have" can't be used in the continuous tense. By the way, there is one more mistake. We have A cold.
2011년 5월 21일
아직도 답을 찾지 못하셨나요?
질문을 남겨보세요. 원어민이 도움을 줄 수 있을 거예요!