Movies and TV English: Seen It? What's It About?

A conversation about a movie often follows a familiar path: Have you seen it?, What's it about?, then a quick opinion. This guide gives you phrases for that conversation, words for seasons and episodes, and a way to stop someone revealing the ending: No spoilers!

Prefer to hear it first? The podcast episode No Spoilers! walks through the same twelve phrases in two short scenes — a Monday-morning chat at work and a Friday night choosing what to watch.

Starting the conversation: Have you seen…? What's it about?

The opening question. The simplest way in is Have you seen…? plus the name. It asks about your experience up to now, with no particular time in mind.

Did you see…? is also natural, especially with a time: Did you see it last night? American speakers often use it without a time too. If you're not sure, Have you seen…? is the safe choice. The full picture is in our guide to present perfect vs past simple.

The story. If you haven't seen it, ask What's it about? — and about goes at the end, like in Who did you go with? The answer is one sentence, and never the ending.

Two more openers you'll hear all the time: What kind of movies do you like? — answered with a genre: I love comedies. I'm really into thrillers. Horror movies aren't really my thing. And Where did you watch it? — at the movies (in a movie theater), at home, on my laptop. For be into and the other free-time verbs, see our guide to hobbies and free time.

Your opinion: worth watching, a bit slow, couldn't stop watching

Recommending it. It's worth watching means it is a good use of your time. Learn worth + -ing as a phrase. A casual way to ask for a recommendation is Is it any good?

Describing the pace. It was a bit slow means the story moved slowly; it does not always mean the film was boring. A bit softens criticism. If the story kept your attention, say I couldn't stop watching or I was hooked.

When you describe the movie itself, use the -ing adjectives: it was boring, it was gripping, the ending was surprising. I was bored describes you. That small choice has its own page — -ed vs -ing adjectives — and the general phrases for agreeing and disagreeing are in our guide to giving opinions.

Movies and shows: seasons, episodes, and binge-watching

The nouns. Movie and film can name the same thing: movie is especially common in American English, while film is common in British English and expressions such as a film festival. A series is often divided into seasons, with several episodes in each.

The verbs. Use watch for spending time viewing a movie or show. See often describes the experience: Have you seen it? Both can be natural in I saw/watched it last night. To stream is to watch over the internet; to binge-watch is to watch many episodes in a row.

Where you watch: on TV, on Netflix, on my phone — but at the movies or at the theater for the big screen. For learners, English show, English subtitles is a useful habit: if you miss a line, go back and listen again.

The ending — and how to protect it

The ending vs the end. The end is the final moment. The ending is how the story finishes — happy, sad, surprising — so it's the word for your opinion.

Spoilers. A spoiler is information that ruins the surprise. The verb is spoil. If you're the one who wants to talk about the ending, check first.

Put together, the whole conversation is short. Notice that the person who has not seen it never hears the ending.

Have you seen opens the topic, What's it about? asks for the story without the ending, and No spoilers stops the last question. It's worth watching is the recommendation; a bit slow softens the criticism.

Common mistakes

Question word order. In a direct question, put is before the subject: What is the movie about? The conversational short form is What's the movie about?

“It's worth to watch.” After worth, use the -ing form, or just it.

“I saw it in the TV.” Programs are on TV, on Netflix, on my laptop. The big screen is at the movies or at the theater.

On TV means on television. For a visit to the cinema, at the cinema is common in British English and at the movies in American English. In the cinema can also describe the place where you watched; it is not a grammatical error.

“The movie was bored.” The movie causes the feeling, so it's boring; you feel it, so you are bored.

“A serie.” The singular is a series, with the s — it's the same word in singular and plural. In American English, one batch of episodes is a season.

In British English, series is also used for one season of a show: the second series. That's a dialect difference, not a mistake — only serie without the s is wrong.

“Don't make spoilers.” English uses the verb spoil, or the fixed phrase No spoilers!

Quick exercise

Complete sentences 1–7 with these words, using each once: about, binge-watched, ending, episode, seen, spoilers, worth. In number 8, choose one of the two words.

1. Have you ___ the new detective show? — Not yet.
2. What's it ___? — A detective in a small town, and every season is a different case.
3. Is it any good? — Honestly, it's ___ watching. The first hour was a bit slow, though.
4. There's a new ___ every Friday, so we have to wait a week.
5. I ___ the whole season on Saturday — eight hours on the couch.
6. I loved the ___ — I didn't expect that at all.
7. Okay, so at the end, the detective— Stop! No ___!
8. The first episode was a bit ___, but then I couldn't stop watching. (boring / bored)

Frequently asked questions

Is it “Have you seen it?” or “Did you see it?”

Both are natural. “Have you seen it?” asks about your experience up to now, with no particular time in mind. “Did you see it?” is the usual choice when a time is mentioned — Did you see it last night? — and American speakers also use it without a time.

What is the difference between “movie” and “film”?

They mean the same thing. “Movie” is the everyday American word; “film” is more common in British English and in more formal or artistic contexts — a film festival, a film director. Both are understood everywhere.

What does “No spoilers!” mean?

A spoiler is information about the story — especially the ending — that ruins the surprise. “No spoilers!” means “Don't tell me what happens.” The verb is “spoil”: Don't spoil it for me.