Which sentence is correct or natural?

And which is not and why?

A: I am too cold to swim.

B: I am so cold that I can't swim.

C: I am cold and I can't swim.

Comments

  • All are grammatically correct.

    A sounds right if someone who would ordinarily swim doesn't go in the water this time because s/he's too cold.

    B sounds right if the person is already in the water when s/he realizes that it's too cold to swim. Although "It's / the water is so cold that I can't swim" might be more natural.

    C would be a person giving two reasons for not going swimming, or maybe for not going to the beach/lake/pool.

  • A. Sounds most natural, that's what I would say.

    B. Suggests you are extremely cold, like hypothermic, and can't move.

    C. Implies that you don't know how to swim.

    Hope this helps.

  • To me, as a Briton, A seems the most natural, B sounds more formal. C is different, it puts forward two ideas that are not necessarily connected.

  • Anna sounds right, but I would add that with C you sound as though you are making two unrelated observations despite their being in the same sentence. None are grammatically incorrect.

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