Learn Hardcore Russian: Я оформил платную подписку, чтобы смотреть сериал без рекламы. - I set up a paid subscription in order to watch the series without ads.

So yes, this is a very normal way to say “I subscribed (to a paid plan)” when it feels a bit like a formal action (clicking through the sign‑up flow, entering payment details, etc.).

What’s the difference between оформить подписку and подписаться?

Both are common, but there is a nuance:

Оформить подписку (на что‑то)
Literally: to formalize / register a subscription.
Focus: completing the formal process (filling in details, payment, etc.).
Example:
- Я оформил платную подписку на этот сервис. – I took out a paid subscription to this service.
Подписаться (на что‑то)
Literally: to subscribe (reflexive).
More general; can be used for paid or free subscriptions (YouTube channel, newsletter, etc.).
Example:
- Я подписался на этот канал. – I subscribed to this channel.

In many digital contexts, both are possible:

Я оформил подписку на Netflix.
Я подписался на Netflix.

Оформить подписку often sounds a bit more “transactional” or formal; подписаться is a bit more neutral and general.

Why is it платную подписку, not платная подписка?

Платную подписку is in the accusative case, because it’s the direct object of the verb оформил.

Кто? – Я (nominative, subject)
Что сделал? – оформил (verb)
Что? – платную подписку (accusative, direct object: what did I set up?)

In Russian, adjectives agree with the nouns they modify in:

gender
number
case

Подписка is:

feminine
singular
accusative (as the object of оформил)

So the adjective must match that:

nominative: платная подписка
accusative: платную подписку

If you said платная подписка in this sentence, it would be ungrammatical, because the case is wrong for the object position.

Why is it оформил (perfective) and not оформлял (imperfective)?

Оформил (perfective past) shows a completed, one‑time action with a result:

“I (successfully) signed up / completed the subscription.”

Оформлял (imperfective past) would focus on the process, duration, or repetition:

Я оформлял платную подписку – “I was subscribing / I used to subscribe / I was in the process of subscribing.”
On its own, this sounds incomplete or like background information; you’d typically expect more context:
- Я оформлял платную подписку, но передумал. – I was in the process of subscribing, but changed my mind.

In your sentence, the point is that the action is done and its result exists (you now have the subscription), so the perfective оформил is exactly what you want.

Why is смотреть an infinitive after чтобы, and not чтобы я смотрел?

Russian has two different patterns with чтобы:

Чтобы
- infinitive – purpose, when the subject is the same in both parts:
- Я оформил платную подписку, чтобы смотреть сериал без рекламы.
  = I subscribed (so that I could) watch the series without ads.
  Subject in both clauses: я.
This is the default, very natural form for “in order to do X” when the subject is the same.
Чтобы
- (subject) + past tense – desired result / purpose, more explicit, can sound more emotional or involve a different subject:
- Я оформил платную подписку, чтобы я смотрел сериал без рекламы.
  Grammatically possible, but sounds unnatural and redundant in modern speech; you almost never say it this way when the subject is the same.
- Much more natural with a different subject:
  Я оформил платную подписку, чтобы дети смотрели сериал без рекламы.
  – I subscribed so that the kids could watch the show without ads.

So:

Same subject → normally чтобы + infinitive.
Different subject or strong emotional nuance → чтобы + (subject) + verb.

That’s why чтобы смотреть is used here.

Why is смотреть (imperfective) used, not посмотреть?

Смотреть is imperfective, and here it expresses:

an ongoing / repeated activity
watching in general over time (episodes, regularly)

The idea is:

“I got a subscription so that I can (be able to) watch the series (whenever I want) without ads.”

If you used посмотреть (perfective infinitive), it would sound more like:

to watch it once, from start to finish, as a single complete action.

Example contrast:

Я оформил платную подписку, чтобы посмотреть этот фильм.
– I took out a paid subscription in order to watch this movie (once, specific event).
Я оформил платную подписку, чтобы смотреть сериал без рекламы.
– I took out a paid subscription so I can watch the series (episodes, over time) without ads.

For series / ongoing use of the service, смотреть is the natural choice.

Why is it без рекламы and not без реклама?

Because the preposition без always takes the genitive case.

Реклама (advertising / an ad / ads in general) – nominative singular
Рекламы – genitive singular

After без you must use genitive:

без рекламы – without advertising / without ads

So:

без рекламы – correct (genitive)
без реклама – incorrect (wrong case)

Note that без рекламы usually means:

without ads / ad‑free (in general, not one specific advertisement)

If you wanted “without (separate) ads” in a more countable sense, you still say без рекламы in practice. You do not say без реклам in this context; без реклам is rare and would sound odd here.

How should I understand реклама here: is it singular “advertisement” or plural “ads”?

Russian реклама is typically uncountable and can mean:

advertising (as a phenomenon, in general)
the ads in a show or on a website (collectively)

In this sentence:

смотреть сериал без рекламы = to watch the show without ads / without advertising breaks.

In English you naturally say “without ads” (plural), but Russian uses the uncountable singular реклама.

So:

Russian: без рекламы
English: “without ads” / “ad‑free”, not “without an advertisement” in this context.

Can the word order change? For example, can I say Я оформил подписку платную or move без рекламы?

Russian word order is flexible but not all permutations sound natural.

Платную подписку
The neutral order is what you have:
- Я оформил платную подписку…
Я оформил подписку платную is technically possible but sounds unusual and slightly stylistic/poetic, or like contrastive emphasis:
- Я оформил подписку платную, а не бесплатную.
  (emphasizing paid specifically)
Position of без рекламы These are all possible and understandable, with slightly different rhythm/emphasis:
- …чтобы смотреть сериал без рекламы. – neutral, most natural.
- …чтобы смотреть без рекламы сериал. – emphasizes без рекламы a bit more (“to watch without ads the series”).
- …чтобы без рекламы смотреть сериал. – puts strong focus on “without ads,” often used when contrasting:
  - Я оформил платную подписку, чтобы без рекламы смотреть сериал. Раньше реклама меня очень раздражала.

So yes, you can move без рекламы or сериал, but платную подписку is best kept together in the form you have, unless you deliberately want contrastive emphasis.

Does Я оформил платную подписку mean “I have subscribed” or “I subscribed”? Which English tense is closer?

Russian doesn’t have a separate present perfect form like English.

Я оформил платную подписку (perfective past) can correspond to either:

“I have subscribed to a paid plan.” (result relevant now)
“I subscribed to a paid plan.” (simple past, just a fact)

Context determines how you would best translate it.

In this sentence, because it’s explaining the reason for something you can do now (watch the series without ads), the English present perfect feels natural:

“I’ve subscribed to a paid plan so I can watch the series without ads.”

But grammatically, Russian just uses past perfective and lets the context carry the “current relevance” meaning.

When would I use подписка vs абонемент in similar contexts?

Both can be translated as subscription, but they’re used in different typical situations.

Подписка
Common for:
- digital services: streaming platforms, apps
- magazines, newspapers
- online content, newsletters Examples:
- платная подписка на сервис – paid subscription to a service
- оформить подписку на журнал – subscribe to a magazine
Абонемент
More like membership / pass (often physical or time‑limited access):
- gym membership
- pool pass
- public transport pass
- theater ticket pack, etc. Examples:
- абонемент в спортзал – gym membership
- проездной абонемент – travel pass

For Netflix‑type things, подписка is the normal word.
So in your sentence, подписка is exactly right; абонемент would sound wrong or at least very odd for a typical online series service.