Practice
Articles with disease names: use English correctly
Sign in to saveA conversation can include diabetes, malaria, a cold, and the flu in four short sentences. They all name health conditions, but English treats the noun phrases differently. The pattern comes from grammar and established usage, not from how serious the condition is.
Choose no article, a, or the with common disease and illness names by recognizing countable forms, uncountable names, and established expressions.
Read and practice
Read the examples and try the written questions in this guide. Listening recordings are not available for this lesson yet.
Try the written questions
diabetes; malaria; the flu /ˌdaɪəˈbiːtiːz/; /məˈleəriə/; /ðə ˈfluː/
The short answer
Say has diabetes and mentions malaria, with no article before the disease name. Say has a cold because cold is countable in this meaning. The flu is also a familiar expression, but flu without an article is common in some varieties of English.
Nadia has diabetes, but her colleague has a cold.
Why it works: Diabetes is usually an uncountable disease name. A cold is a countable illness phrase.
5 more examples
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Nadia has diabetes.
Diabetes is commonly used as an uncountable disease name, so the general statement has no article.
Not this:Nadia has
a cold. What changes: Cold is countable when it means one ordinary illness, so a is usual. -
The report mentions malaria.
Malaria is normally used without an article when the name itself is the object of the sentence.
Not this:The report mentions
a caseof malaria. What changes: The article belongs to the countable noun case, not to malaria. -
Measles appears in the index.
Measles ends in s, but its usual disease-name form has no article in this general use.
Not this:
The namemeasles appears in the index. What changes: The belongs to the specific common noun name. Measles remains the name being discussed. -
At work, Sam said that he had the flu.
The flu is a familiar expression in many English-speaking contexts.
Not this:At work, Sam said that he had
flu. What changes: Flu without an article is also common, especially in British English. Learn the form used in your context. -
The diagnosis of diabetes was discussed in class.
The identifies the specific common noun diagnosis. It does not become part of the disease name diabetes.
Not this:The class discussed
diabetes. What changes: When diabetes is named generally, it normally appears without an article.
Read the full guide
First, learn the disease name as a complete noun phrase. Many names behave like uncountable nouns, so they have no article in a general statement: diabetes, malaria, and measles. A cold is a countable phrase, so it normally needs a or another determiner. Fixed expressions and regional preferences can add another pattern, as with the flu.
Learn the whole noun phrase
Do not choose an article from the topic alone. Learn the complete English phrase. Diabetes, a cold, and the flu are all familiar forms, but their articles are different because the nouns have different grammatical patterns.
Nadia has diabetes, and her colleague has a cold.
Diabetes is usually used without an article. A cold means one countable illness, so it takes a.
Which phrase names one countable illness: diabetes or a cold?
A cold names one countable illness.
Use no article with many disease names
Many established disease names work like uncountable nouns in general statements. Say diabetes, malaria, and measles without a, an, or the when you simply name the condition. This is a grammar pattern, not a statement about the condition itself.
The report mentions malaria.
Say malaria without an article, but say a report when you mean one countable document.
Choose the usual form: The index includes ___ measles.
Use no article: The index includes measles.
Use a with a countable illness
Cold is countable when it means one illness. In a singular phrase, it usually needs a determiner. Say a cold, my cold, or that cold, depending on the meaning. Do not copy the no-article pattern from diabetes into every health word.
I stayed home because I had a cold.
A cold refers to one countable illness. Diabetes is normally uncountable in this use.
Choose the usual form: She has ___ cold.
Use a cold because cold is countable in this meaning.
Recognize the flu as a fixed expression
The flu is a familiar expression, especially in North American English. Flu without an article is also common, especially in British English. Both forms occur, so listen to the variety and the surrounding sentence instead of treating one form as an error everywhere.
Sam said that he had the flu.
The flu is an established phrase. Flu is also an established article-free form in many contexts.
Find the noun that the article modifies
Sometimes the appears near a disease name but belongs to another noun. In the diagnosis of diabetes, the identifies diagnosis. In the name of the disease, the identifies name and disease. Read the phrase from the beginning before you attach an article to the disease name.
The diagnosis of diabetes was discussed in class.
The article belongs to diagnosis. The disease name diabetes still has no article in the phrase.
Where does the article belong in the phrase ___ name of the disease?
Use the name of the disease. The first article modifies name; the second modifies disease.
Check a dictionary for an unfamiliar form
A learner's dictionary can show whether a word is countable, uncountable, or used in a fixed expression. Check the entry for the meaning you need, because one word can have more than one grammatical use. Store the article with the phrase in your notes.
The class compared a cold with the flu as English noun phrases.
The comparison is about grammar: a cold is countable, while the flu is a familiar phrase with an article.
Before you go
Remember this
Use no article with many disease names in general statements: diabetes, malaria, and measles. Use a with a countable phrase such as a cold. Treat the flu as an established expression, while recognizing that flu is also common in some English varieties. When you see the before a phrase such as the diagnosis of diabetes, check which common noun the article actually modifies.
Practice with the written examples
You can practice with the written questions in the Learn tab. Each answer includes an explanation.
Try the written questionsListening test not available yet
This lesson does not have the recordings needed for a listening test. Use the written questions in the guide to check your understanding.
Try the written questionsQuestions about "Articles with disease names: use English correctly"
Why do we say has diabetes without an article?
Diabetes is commonly used as an uncountable disease name in a general statement, so English normally uses no article before it. The same pattern appears with malaria and measles. Learn the condition name as a whole phrase, then check a learner's dictionary if you are unsure about a different word.
Nadia has diabetes.
Why do we say a cold?
Cold is countable when it means one illness, so a singular phrase normally needs a determiner. Say a cold, my cold, or that cold according to the meaning. This differs from diabetes, which is usually uncountable when you name the condition generally.
Nadia has a cold.
Is the flu always the only correct form?
No. The flu is a familiar expression in many contexts, especially in North American English, while flu without an article is also common, especially in British English. Notice the variety and the phrase around it. A dictionary can show the usage labels for the English you are learning.
The report mentions malaria.
Why can the appear near a disease name?
The can modify a nearby common noun rather than the disease name itself. In the diagnosis of diabetes, the identifies the specific diagnosis, while diabetes remains the disease name after of. Read the full noun phrase before deciding which word the article belongs to.
The report mentions a case of malaria.
Does the final s in measles make it plural?
No. Measles looks like a plural word because it ends in s, but its usual disease-name form is treated as a single uncountable name. Use the regular phrase without an article in a general statement, and learn the spelling and grammar together rather than relying on the final letter.
Measles appears in the index.