"Loro erano gravemente malati."

Translation: They were seriously ill.

[Maky9]

What about "They were very sick"?

[davidbroad9]

They were gravely ill is nearer

[andromeda1815]

Shouldn't "They were severely sick" be accepted?

[giovaug]

The meaning is the same but your translation is not litteral

[Maky9]

ok thanks. learning English as a "side dish" in this Italian lesson..

[Alberto925587]

"They were severely ill" is as good as this form. Better put it in the program.

[Tina607664]

Gee, gravely was one of the choices in the drop down menu, but apparently it's wrong... Hmmmm, don't get it, but i'll change my answer to get past this lesson

[Arnold193698]

The Oxford Learners Dictionary (online) provides, among other things, the following information about the word "ill": "(especially British English) (North American English usually sick) [not usually before noun] suffering from an illness or disease; not feeling well".  The first two definitions of the word "sick" in this dictionary are: "physically or mentally ill" and "[not usually before noun] feeling that you want to vomit". For more information, see: https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/