Publikum støtter favoritten.

Publikum is often used as a collective noun meaning the audience or the public. In Norwegian, some nouns like this are very commonly used without an article when the meaning is clear from context.

So Publikum støtter favoritten naturally means The audience supports the favorite.

A few useful comparisons:

• publikum = audience / the audience / the public
• et publikum = an audience
• publikummet = the audience, with extra emphasis on a specific audience

In many everyday contexts, the bare form publikum sounds the most natural.

The ending -en marks the noun as definite singular for a common-gender noun.

The basic noun is:

• en favoritt = a favorite

The definite form is:

• favoritten = the favorite

So:

• Publikum støtter favoritten = The audience supports the favorite

This is a very common Norwegian pattern:

• en bil → bilen
• en lærer → læreren
• en favoritt → favoritten

Støtter is the present tense of the verb å støtte, which means to support.

The forms are:

• å støtte = to support
• støtter = support / supports
• støttet = supported / has supported

In this sentence, støtter means supports.

One important thing for English speakers: Norwegian verbs do not change according to the subject.

So you get:

• jeg støtter = I support
• du støtter = you support
• han støtter = he supports
• publikum støtter = the audience supports

The verb form stays the same.

No, this is the basic Norwegian main-clause word order:

• Subject + Verb + Object

So:

• Publikum = subject
• støtter = verb
• favoritten = object

This is the same basic order as in English:

• The audience supports the favorite

It is a very straightforward sentence.

Grammatically, publikum is usually treated as singular, even though it refers to many people.

So Norwegian says:

• Publikum støtter ... not
• Publikum støttere ... or some plural verb form

This is similar to how English can use collective nouns such as the audience.

So even though many individuals are involved, the sentence treats them as one group.

Favoritt is usually a common-gender noun, so you normally learn it as:

• en favoritt

That is why the definite form is:

• favoritten

If a noun is common gender, the usual pattern is:

• en in the indefinite singular
• -en in the definite singular

So:

• en favoritt = a favorite
• favoritten = the favorite

Yes, you could, and it would still be understandable.

The difference is mostly one of style and nuance:

• Publikum støtter favoritten sounds very natural and general
• Publikummet støtter favoritten sounds more explicitly like that specific audience

In many contexts, Norwegian prefers the bare collective noun publikum. So the original version is likely the most idiomatic choice.

The letter ø is a vowel that does not exist in standard English, so it often feels difficult at first.

In støtter, the ø is a short vowel. A rough approximation is something like the vowel in British English bird or burn, but with rounded lips. It is not exact, but it can help as a starting point.

Very roughly:

• støtter ≈ STUHT-er with rounded lips on the vowel
• favoritten ≈ fa-vo-RIT-en

A few pronunciation notes:

• ø is a separate letter in Norwegian, not just an o
• the double tt usually signals that the vowel before it is short
• the final -er in støtter is usually pronounced clearly, though not strongly stressed

In Norwegian, the definite article is usually attached to the end of the noun instead of standing alone in front of it.

So English says:

• the favorite

But Norwegian often says:

• favoritten

This is one of the biggest differences from English.

Compare:

• en bok = a book

• boken = the book

• en favoritt = a favorite
• favoritten = the favorite

So the idea of the is already built into favoritten.

It can definitely mean a person.

In many contexts, favoritt refers to the person, team, song, film, or other thing expected to win or be liked most. In this sentence, favoritten most naturally means the favorite contestant, the favorite team, or the favorite candidate, depending on context.

So the noun is flexible:

• min favorittbok = my favorite book
• han er favoritten = he is the favorite
• favoritten vant = the favorite won

In your sentence, it most likely refers to the favored person or entry.

Yes, that is useful.

A common full pattern is:

• en favoritt = a favorite
• favoritten = the favorite
• favoritter = favorites
• favorittene = the favorites

So if you wanted a plural sentence, you could say:

• Publikum støtter favorittene = The audience supports the favorites

Learning nouns in a small pattern like this is very helpful when studying Norwegian.