Очередь была огромной.

This is one of the most common questions about this sentence.

In Очередь была огромной, the adjective огромной is in the instrumental singular feminine because it is used as part of the predicate after была.

Russian often allows two patterns after быть in the past or future:

• X была огромная
• X была огромной

Both can be correct, but they are not always felt exactly the same.

Very roughly:

• nominative (огромная) can sound more like simple classification or direct description
• instrumental (огромной) is very common in predicate expressions and can sound a bit more natural or standard in many contexts

So Очередь была огромной = The line/queue was huge.

For a learner, the safest takeaway is:

• after был / была / было / были, predicate nouns and adjectives are often found in the instrumental
• but nominative is also possible in many cases, especially with adjectives

Both of these are possible:

• Очередь была огромной.
• Очередь была огромная.

The version with огромной is especially standard and natural.

Очередь is in the nominative singular.

It is the subject of the sentence:

• Очередь = the queue / line
• была = was
• огромной = huge

So the basic structure is:

• [subject] + [past form of быть] + [predicate adjective]

Because очередь is the thing being described, it stays in the nominative.

Also note that очередь is a feminine noun, which is why the verb is была rather than был or было.

You mainly know from dictionary information and from agreement patterns.

Очередь ends in -ь, and nouns ending in -ь can be either masculine or feminine, so the ending alone does not guarantee the gender.

You can see it here from the verb:

• была = feminine singular past tense

So the sentence itself tells you that очередь is feminine.

A useful rule:

• nouns ending in -а / -я are often feminine
• nouns ending in a consonant are often masculine
• nouns ending in -о / -е are often neuter
• nouns ending in -ь must usually be learned individually

Yes, Russian often omits to be, but only in the present tense.

Compare:

• Очередь огромная. = The queue is huge.
  • no present-tense is

But in the past tense, Russian does use a form of быть:

• Очередь была огромной. = The queue was huge.

So:

• present: no is
• past: был / была / было / были
• future: forms like будет / будут

That is why была is required here.

In Russian past tense, the verb agrees with the subject in gender and number.

Since очередь is:

• singular
• feminine

the correct past tense form is:

• была

Compare:

• Стол был большим. = The table was big.
  (стол is masculine)
• Комната была большой. = The room was big.
  (комната is feminine)
• Окно было большим. = The window was big.
  (окно is neuter)
• Комнаты были большими. = The rooms were big.
  (plural)

Yes. Огромный / огромная / огромной means huge, enormous, or very large.

So:

• большой = big / large
• огромный = huge / enormous

In this sentence, огромной makes the line sound very long or very large, not just somewhat big.

For example:

• Очередь была большой. = The queue was big/long.
• Очередь была огромной. = The queue was huge.

So огромной is stronger and more emphatic.

Yes.

Очередь commonly means:

• queue in British English
• line in American English

So depending on the English variety, the translation could be:

• The queue was huge.
• The line was huge.

Russian also uses очередь in other related meanings, such as:

• to take turns
• sequence / order
• one’s turn

But in this sentence, the everyday meaning is clearly queue/line.

Yes, Russian word order is fairly flexible.

The neutral order here is:

• Очередь была огромной.

But you may also hear:

• Огромной была очередь.
• Была огромной очередь.

These alternatives usually change the emphasis rather than the core meaning.

For a learner:

• use Очередь была огромной as the normal, neutral version
• understand that other orders are possible for style, focus, or contrast

In the present tense, Russian usually drops to be.

So:

• Очередь огромная. = The queue is huge.

Notice two things:

1. была disappears
2. the adjective usually appears in the nominative here: огромная

So:

• present: Очередь огромная.
• past: Очередь была огромной.

This contrast is very useful to remember.

Yes, очередь is a tricky word for many learners.

A rough pronunciation guide is:

• AH-chi-ryetʹ

More carefully, it is approximately:

• о as a reduced unstressed vowel
• че like che
• редь with a soft final consonant

Important points:

• the stress is on the first syllable: Очередь
• the final -дь is soft
• the unstressed vowels are reduced in normal speech

If you know IPA, it is roughly:

• [ˈot͡ɕɪrʲɪtʲ]

This is a word worth listening to from native audio, because spelling and pronunciation are not fully obvious.

Grammatically, yes, but stylistically it is not ideal.

Огромный already means huge/enormous, so adding очень can sound a bit redundant or heavy:

• очень огромной = very huge

Native speakers are often more likely to say:

• Очередь была огромной.
• Очередь была очень большой.
• Очередь была просто огромной.
• Очередь была невероятно огромной.

So очень огромной is possible, but not the most elegant choice in many contexts.

Yes.

• была огромной simply states a fact: was huge
• оказалась огромной means turned out to be huge

So:

• Очередь была огромной. = neutral description
• Очередь оказалась огромной. = there is an idea of discovery, surprise, or realization

That difference is important in real conversation.