(The) Coronavirus

[Pacifica]

Do you use the definite article before "Coronavirus" or not? I've seen and done both myself but I wonder if there's a dominant tendency.

 

[Terry S.]

I would use the definite article, because I am referring in a colloquial way to the specific coronavirus that is topical.

 

[Pacifica]

I would use the definite article, because I am referring in a colloquial way to the specific coronavirus that is topical.

That makes sense; thanks for sharing your view of it.

It would seem that some people (I don't currently know whether they're a minority) look at it as more of a general concept, like, say, "cancer". This makes a little less sense to me because "Coronavirus" has "virus" in it and a virus needs an article — it's either a virus or the specific virus under discussion, but not just virus. It could be, though, that the compound "Coronavirus" is, for some reason, viewed differently by some — more as the name of a disease than as a virus that's actually being denoted by some word + the word "virus", I guess.

 

[Bitmap]

I suppose it depends on the degree to which the word is perceived as a proper name. Few people would probably say "the SARS-CoV-2" whereas I usually hear or read people say "the coronavirus" or "the Wuhan virus".
Actually, calling it "the coronavirus" is misleading, too, because there is not just one kind of coronavirus, and this one is by far not the first one.

 

[Issacus Divus]

I don't say "Coronavirus has spread quickly." Sounds a little weird. But I do say "Corona has spread quickly."

 

[Bitmap]

Also: "coronavirus" usually isn't capitalised.

 

[Laurentius]

I think it makes more sense to use the article because you'd usually say "the virus has spread quickly".

 

[Hawkwood]

I think it makes more sense to use the article because you'd usually say "the virus has spread quickly".

This makes sense but I know I've been using it without the definite article.

 

[Hawkwood]

This makes sense

But then again look at the acronym AIDS. One would say 'the syndrome' but would one always say 'the AIDS'?

I think it might depend on how it's being used in a sentence. I'm sure I use both with and without.

 

[Laurentius]

To be fair acronyms sound like a totally different thing.

 

[Bitmap]

To be fair acronyms sound like a totally different thing.

Which is why people talk about the "HIV virus" and the "PIN number".

 

[Hawkwood]

To be fair acronyms sound like a totally different thing.

Yes I was confusing covid and corona for a sec then.

 

[Bitmap]

People also confuse the virus with the disease.

SARS-CoV-2 is the virus.
COVID-19 is the disease.

 

[Hawkwood]

Although is covid an acronym anyway? It's certainly not an abbreviation as each individual letter in covid does not represent a word.

I shall the put the lid back on the worm tin.

 

[Hawkwood]

It does make a word that can be sounded from it so it likely is an acronym.

 

[Bitmap]

COVID-19 = COronaVIrus Disease from 2019
SARS-CoV-2 = Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome COronaVirus 2nd edition

 

[Hawkwood]

That makes sense; thanks for sharing your view of it.

It would seem that some people (I don't currently know whether they're a minority) look at it as more of a general concept, like, say, "cancer".

Again that's interchangable for me too. If used in a general sense it's 'cancer is spreading' if I use it more specifically I might say 'the cancer is spreading'.

 

[Hawkwood]

COVID-19 = COronaVIrus Disease from 2019

I probably should know (the) acronym rules but I don't. Do you deem the above as one?

 

[Etaoin Shrdlu]

It's certainly not an abbreviation as each individual letter in covid does not represent a word.

An abbreviation is any shortened form of a word. There is no necessity for individual letters to represent words.

All acronyms are abbreviations, but not all abbreviations are acronyms.

 

[Hawkwood]

An abbreviation is any shortened form of a word. There is no necessity for individual letters to represent words.

All acronyms are abbreviations, but not all abbreviations are acronyms.

I thought an abbreviation used the first letter of each word but does not require to be sounded as a word.

Ok, it's time to have a look online at this.

Edit: I had it arse to front.