It actually already works for both masculine and feminine singular. Grave is an adjective with the same singular form for masculine and feminine:
But in the plural it changes:
So grave agrees with the noun, but the masculine and feminine singular happen to look the same.
In Italian, adjectives often come after the noun, especially when they are descriptive and straightforward.
So:
This is very normal Italian word order. English often puts adjectives before the noun, but Italian commonly places them after.
In this sentence, grave comes after the verb because it is a predicate adjective:
Yes. In many contexts, malattia can be translated as illness, disease, or sickness, depending on the situation.
So Questa malattia è grave could be understood as:
The exact English choice depends on context.
A simple pronunciation guide is:
KWEH-sta ma-la-TEE-a eh GRAH-veh
A few notes:
A more natural flow is: KWEH-sta ma-la-TEE-a eh GRAH-veh
Yes, there can be.
Both can sometimes translate as serious, but grave often suggests something more severe, dangerous, or medically serious. With illnesses, grave is very common and natural.
For example:
In medical or formal contexts, grave is often the best choice.
Yes. Questa è una malattia grave is grammatical, but it means something slightly different in focus:
The first one directly talks about this illness.
The second one first identifies this as a serious illness.
Both are correct; they just structure the idea differently.