Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[shmilymfs]

what's the difference between cold and coldness? (when 'cold' is also being a noun) please make sentences to make me understand it more. thank you.

[Mister Micawber]

.
I presume that you mean when they both refer to low physical temperature and not to the various metaphorical and idiomatic uses.

None I can think of, except that cold often requires the definite article. The words being English, however, I suspect that there are contexts or structures in which one or the other is less preferred or excluded. For example: Please come in out of the cold-- this may be one of those idiomatic structures, though. Mostly, they seem interchangeable to me:

The cold/coldness of the winter freezes my old bones.
Increased cold/coldness slows down the metabolism of amphibians.

Perhaps other members can come up with some substantive differences for you.
.
_________________
"I really do not know that anything has ever been more exciting than diagramming sentences." � Gertrude Stein
...............
Canadian-American who teaches English for a living at Mr Micawber's