Questions & Answers about Этот сериал очень популярный.
Russian normally drops the present‑tense form of быть (to be) in sentences like this.
So instead of saying Этот сериал есть очень популярный, Russians simply say Этот сериал очень популярный.
Literally it looks like “This series very popular”, but it is understood as “This series is very popular.”
If you add есть here, it sounds either archaic, overly emphatic, or just wrong in modern everyday Russian.
The noun сериал is masculine, so the demonstrative “this” must also be masculine:
- этот – masculine singular (this)
- эта – feminine singular
- это – neuter singular
- эти – plural
Because сериал is masculine, you must say этот сериал.
Это сериал usually means “This is a series / TV show” (identifying what something is), not “this series.”
In the sentence Этот сериал очень популярный:
- сериал is masculine, singular, nominative (it is the subject).
- этот is also masculine singular nominative, agreeing with сериал.
- популярный is masculine singular nominative, agreeing with сериал as a predicate adjective (what the series is).
Russian requires agreement in gender, number, and case, so all three have matching forms.
Both sentences are possible:
- Этот сериал очень популярный.
- Этот сериал очень популярен.
The difference:
- популярен is the short form adjective. This is the traditional, more “correct” predicative form (used after an implied “is”). It sounds neutral and is good in both spoken and written Russian.
- популярный is the full form adjective used in a predicative position. This has become very common in everyday speech, especially with adverbs like очень, совсем, достаточно. Some grammars still call it colloquial, but it is widely used.
If you want the safest, most standard version, use Этот сериал очень популярен.
In casual speech, Этот сериал очень популярный is completely natural.
очень means “very” and intensifies the adjective:
- Этот сериал популярный. – This series is popular.
- Этот сериал очень популярный. – This series is very popular.
You can absolutely leave it out; the sentence will still be correct.
It just becomes a weaker statement: popular instead of very popular.
Yes, but the meaning and naturalness change:
Этот сериал очень популярный.
Normal, neutral statement: “This series is very popular.”Этот очень популярный сериал.
Now очень популярный describes which series you are talking about:
“This very popular series …” (as an attribute before the noun).
You would typically continue with more information:
Этот очень популярный сериал выходит по пятницам. – This very popular series airs on Fridays.Этот сериал популярный очень.
Grammatically possible, but sounds poetic, emotional, or odd in everyday speech. In normal conversation, avoid this order.
Stresses:
- Э́тот – stress on the first syllable.
- сериа́л – stress on the last syllable.
- о́чень – stress on the first syllable.
- популя́рный – stress on ля́р.
So the whole sentence is:
Э́тот сериа́л о́чень популя́рный.
Notes:
- Unstressed о is usually pronounced closer to “a”: о́чень ≈ “ó-chen’” (like “ó-chen”).
- Final ый in популярный sounds roughly like “ый”/“ɨj”, not like English “ee”.
это сериал = “This is a series / TV show.”
Here это is a neuter pronoun used in an identifying sentence: Это X.этот сериал = “this series / this TV show” (as a noun phrase).
You use it as the subject or object in a larger sentence:
Этот сериал очень популярный. – This series is very popular.
Я смотрю этот сериал. – I watch this series.
So это сериал names what something is, and этот сериал points to a specific series.
In modern standard Russian, no. That sounds wrong or very archaic.
- Этот сериал очень популярный. – normal, modern Russian.
- Этот сериал есть очень популярный. – feels old-fashioned, bookish, or just incorrect in everyday use.
The present tense есть is usually:
- Omitted in such sentences, or
- Used with a special emphatic or philosophical meaning (rare, stylistic).
For learning purposes, treat it this way:
In the present tense, don’t put есть between a subject and its adjective or noun complement.
сериал = a TV series / show as a whole (the entire project).
Этот сериал очень популярный. – This TV series is very popular.серия = one episode of a series.
Я посмотрел три серии этого сериала. – I watched three episodes of this series.
So сериал is the whole show, and серия is a single episode.