Это обычный вопрос.

In Russian, the verb to be is usually omitted in the present tense.

So:

• Это обычный вопрос = This is an ordinary question

Literally, Russian says something like:

• This ordinary question

But it is understood as This is an ordinary question.

In the past or future, Russian does use forms of to be:

• Это был обычный вопрос = This was an ordinary question
• Это будет обычный вопрос = This will be an ordinary question

Это can mean this, that, or sometimes it, depending on context.

In Это обычный вопрос, it most naturally means:

• This is an ordinary question

It is very commonly used in Russian to identify or define something:

• Это мой друг = This is my friend
• Это книга = This is a book

So even though это often looks like this, in practice it is also part of a very common This is ... structure.

Because обычный must agree with вопрос.

Russian adjectives change form to match the noun in:

• gender
• number
• case

Here, вопрос is:

• masculine
• singular
• nominative

So the adjective must also be:

• обычный

Compare:

• обычный вопрос = an ordinary question
• обычная книга = an ordinary book
• обычное слово = an ordinary word
• обычные вопросы = ordinary questions

A very common clue is the ending.

The noun вопрос ends in a consonant, and nouns ending in a consonant are often masculine in Russian.

So:

• вопрос → masculine

That is why the adjective takes the masculine form:

• обычный вопрос

This is a useful general rule, though there are some exceptions elsewhere in the language.

Because it is the main noun being identified in the sentence.

In Это обычный вопрос, the phrase обычный вопрос is basically the thing that это is pointing to:

• This is an ordinary question

When Russian uses this kind of identifying sentence in the present tense, the noun is often in the nominative:

• Это проблема = This is a problem
• Это интересная идея = This is an interesting idea

So вопрос stays in the nominative, and the adjective agrees with it.

Yes. Russian word order is more flexible than English, but the most neutral order here is:

• Это обычный вопрос

You may also hear:

• Обычный это вопрос? in special contexts
• Вопрос обычный in a context where the noun is already known and the speaker is emphasizing ordinary

However, these alternatives usually change the focus or tone. For a basic statement, Это обычный вопрос is the natural choice.

They are not the same.

• обычный = ordinary, usual, typical
• нормальный = normal, fine, acceptable

So:

• Это обычный вопрос means This is an ordinary/usual question
• Это нормальный вопрос means This is a normal/reasonable question

A native English speaker might sometimes want to use normal, but in Russian обычный is better if you mean common or nothing special.

Russian has no articles like a or the, so the sentence itself does not directly mark that distinction.

Depending on context, Это обычный вопрос could be understood as:

• This is an ordinary question
• This is the ordinary question

But without special context, English would usually translate it as:

• This is an ordinary question

Context is what tells you whether something is definite or indefinite in Russian.

The stress is on the second syllable:

• обы́чный

A rough pronunciation guide for an English speaker is:

• uh-BIHCH-nyy

A few notes:

• о in an unstressed position is usually reduced in pronunciation
• чн here is pronounced like chn
• the final -ый sounds roughly like iy / yy, though not exactly like English

The noun вопрос is stressed on the second syllable:

• вопро́с

So the full sentence is:

• Э́то обы́чный вопро́с

Usually not if you mean This is an ordinary question.

• Это обычный вопрос = This is an ordinary question

If you say only:

• Обычный вопрос

that usually means just:

• An ordinary question
• Ordinary question

That is a noun phrase, not a full statement in the same way.

So это is important here because it makes the sentence into This is ...

Grammatically, Russian does have есть, but in modern standard Russian you normally do not use it like English is in this kind of sentence.

So:

• Это обычный вопрос = natural
• Это есть обычный вопрос = unnatural in most everyday situations

The word есть does exist in Russian, but it is used differently, and not as a normal present-tense is in simple identification sentences.

Because that is the default position for most descriptive adjectives in Russian.

So:

• обычный вопрос = ordinary question

This is the normal order.

If you put the adjective after the noun:

• вопрос обычный

it can sound more contrastive or emphatic, something like:

• The question is ordinary
• The question is a usual one

So before-the-noun is the neutral choice here.

It is neutral. It works in both formal and informal situations.

• Это is neutral
• обычный is neutral
• вопрос is neutral

So Это обычный вопрос is a standard, natural sentence that would not sound especially formal, slangy, or bookish.