--- title: Colds, coughs and the weather — a lesson of Mova's school · trees and pragmatics description: «Colds, coughs and the weather», a lesson of the myths course of Mova's primary school, sentence by sentence with dependency trees and pragmatics. It begins: "Coat ON, or you'll catch your death!" shouts Nan from the door, and half the country has heard it every winter for a hundred years: cold air, --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/myths/4-colds-coughs-and-the-weather/) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/) / [Myths](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/myths/) / Colds, coughs and the weather # Colds, coughs and the weather Lesson 4 of the myths course of Mova's primary school: 17 sentences, each with its syntax tree and pragmatics. The lessons are written for Mova, and their agreed trees are part of Mova corpus 0.4 (CC BY-SA 4.0). How Mova does on its tests: [the lesson at school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/myths/4-colds-coughs-and-the-weather/). - [0](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/myths/4-colds-coughs-and-the-weather/0/) — "Coat ON, or you'll catch your death!" shouts Nan from the door, and half the country has heard it every winter for a hundred years: cold air, wet hair and rain give you a cold. - [1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/myths/4-colds-coughs-and-the-weather/1/) — It feels true, because colds really do come in winter. - [3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/myths/4-colds-coughs-and-the-weather/3/) — Winter helps the viruses because we all crowd indoors with the windows shut, and some cold viruses last longer in cold, dry air; being chilly on your own, with nobody's germs about, does not give you a cold. - [4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/myths/4-colds-coughs-and-the-weather/4/) — So Nan's coat is still a good idea, because being freezing is miserable and in very cold weather getting soaked can be dangerous. - [5](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/myths/4-colds-coughs-and-the-weather/5/) — She is right about the coat and wrong about the reason. - [7](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/myths/4-colds-coughs-and-the-weather/7/) — Colds are caused by viruses that spread from people, through coughs, sneezes and hands; being cold or having wet hair does not by itself give you a cold. - [8](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/myths/4-colds-coughs-and-the-weather/8/) — Colds are more common in winter mostly because people are indoors close together, and some cold viruses survive better in cold, dry air. - [9](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/myths/4-colds-coughs-and-the-weather/9/) — Wet hair or rain can make you feel cold, but they bring no viruses; in very cold weather, getting soaked can lead to dangerous chilling called hypothermia. - [10](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/myths/4-colds-coughs-and-the-weather/10/) — "Feed a cold, starve a fever" is an old saying; doctors say with either one you should drink plenty and eat when you feel hungry. - [11](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/myths/4-colds-coughs-and-the-weather/11/) — Your head loses about as much heat as any other bare part of the same size; the "most heat through your head" idea came from a test where only the head was left uncovered. - [12](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/myths/4-colds-coughs-and-the-weather/12/) — The vitamin C idea was made famous by Linus Pauling, a great chemist with two Nobel Prizes, who was wrong about this outside his own work: for most people, taking lots of vitamin C does not stop colds; studies suggest it may shorten them slightly for some people. - [13](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/myths/4-colds-coughs-and-the-weather/13/) — Antibiotics kill bacteria, not viruses, so they do not help a cold; taking them when not needed helps germs become resistant to them. - [14](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/myths/4-colds-coughs-and-the-weather/14/) — Green or yellow snot is common in an ordinary cold; its colour alone does not show you need antibiotics. - [15](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/myths/4-colds-coughs-and-the-weather/15/) — Piling on blankets to "sweat out" a fever can make you overheat; light clothes and plenty of drinks are better. - [16](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/myths/4-colds-coughs-and-the-weather/16/) — Chicken soup does not cure a cold, but warm drinks and soup can soothe a sore throat and help you drink enough. - [17](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/myths/4-colds-coughs-and-the-weather/17/) — Washing your hands well is one of the best ways to stop cold viruses spreading. - [18](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/myths/4-colds-coughs-and-the-weather/18/) — An ill person should see a doctor if they stay ill a long time or get worse, whatever colour their snot is. - ← previous: [Eyes and ears](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/myths/3-eyes-and-ears/) - next →: [Moving, swimming and sport](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/myths/5-moving-swimming-and-sport/) - ↑ back to [Myths](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/myths/)