La malattia dura una settimana.

La is the feminine singular definite article, meaning the.

So la malattia = the illness / the disease.

In Italian, articles are used more often than in English. In a full sentence, it is very common to say la malattia rather than leaving the noun bare.

In Italian, every noun has a grammatical gender. Malattia is a feminine noun, so it takes feminine forms like:

• la malattia = the illness
• una malattia = an illness
• questa malattia = this illness

Its plural is le malattie.

Dura comes from the verb durare, which means to last.

So:

• durare = to last
• dura = lasts

In this sentence, La malattia dura una settimana means that the illness lasts one week.

Because dura is the present tense form that matches la malattia, which is third person singular.

The present tense of durare goes like this:

• io duro = I last
• tu duri = you last
• lui/lei dura = he/she/it lasts
• noi duriamo = we last
• voi durate = you all last
• loro durano = they last

Since la malattia is singular, Italian uses dura.

In Italian, expressions of duration often do not need a preposition like for.

So English says:

• It lasts for a week

But Italian usually says:

• Dura una settimana

The time expression una settimana functions directly as the duration.

This is very common:

• Il film dura due ore = The movie lasts two hours
• La lezione dura un’ora = The lesson lasts an hour

Because after durare, Italian normally gives the length of time directly, without per.

So the most natural form is:

• dura una settimana

Using per una settimana is possible in some contexts in Italian, but with durare it is usually more natural and standard to say the duration directly.

So a learner should remember:

• durare + length of time

For example:

• La riunione dura trenta minuti
• La vacanza dura dieci giorni

This is the normal Italian word order:

• subject: La malattia
• verb: dura
• duration expression: una settimana

So it follows a straightforward pattern similar to English:

• The illness
  • lasts
    • a week

Italian can sometimes change word order for emphasis, but this version is the neutral and most natural one.

Yes. Malattia is a broad word and can often be translated as either illness or disease, depending on context.

For example:

• ha una malattia grave = he/she has a serious disease/illness
• durante la malattia = during the illness

In everyday learning, illness is often the most natural translation in a sentence like this.

Yes, it is in the present tense: dura = lasts.

But like English, the present tense can sometimes refer to a future scheduled or expected situation, depending on context.

For example, if a doctor is explaining something, La malattia dura una settimana could mean:

• The illness lasts a week
• or The illness will last a week

The exact time reference depends on the situation.

You would change the noun, article, and verb to match the plural:

• Le malattie durano una settimana = The illnesses last a week

Changes:

• la → le
• malattia → malattie
• dura → durano

This shows subject-verb agreement in Italian.

It is pronounced approximately ma-lat-TI-a.

A few useful points:

• the stress is on ti
• gli is not present here, so everything is pronounced clearly by syllable
• the final -ia is pronounced as two vowel sounds together

A rough English-friendly guide is:

• mah-lat-TEE-ah

Yes, grammatically you could, and it means The illness has a duration of one week. However, it sounds much more formal and less natural in everyday speech.

The simple and normal sentence is:

• La malattia dura una settimana

So learners should usually prefer durare for this kind of idea.