Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Publikummet ler mye under teaterstykket. - The audience laughs a lot during the play.

Publikum is the base form meaning “audience”. In Norwegian, the definite form (“the audience”) is usually made by adding an ending instead of using a separate word like “the”.

publikum = audience (in general)
publikummet = the (specific) audience

In this sentence, we are talking about the specific audience at that particular play, so the definite form publikummet is used.

Is publikum grammatically singular or plural? Why does the verb look singular?

Grammatically, publikum is treated as a singular neuter noun in Norwegian, even though it refers to many people.

So you say:

Publikum ler. = The audience laughs. (verb in 3rd person singular)

You do not change the verb to show that the audience contains many people; the noun itself stays singular and the verb form stays the same.

Why does publikummet have a double m? Could it also be publikumet?

The standard definite form is written publikummet with mm, because the ending -et is attached to publikum, and in pronunciation you get a long m sound.

In practice, both spellings publikummet and publikumet are found, and both are accepted in Bokmål. The version in your sentence (publikummet) simply reflects the doubled consonant more clearly in writing.

What is the verb ler, and how is å le conjugated?

Ler is the present tense of the verb å le (to laugh). The main forms are:

å le – to laugh
ler – laugh(s) / is laughing (present)
lo – laughed (past)
har ledd – has/have laughed (present perfect)

Norwegian doesn’t have a separate continuous form like English “is laughing”, so ler covers both “laughs” and “is laughing.”

What exactly does mye mean here, and what kind of word is it?

In Publikummet ler mye, the word mye is an adverb of degree, and it means “a lot” or “much”.

With verbs, mye usually means “a lot”:
- Hun jobber mye. = She works a lot.
- Publikummet ler mye. = The audience laughs a lot.

As an adjective/adverb, mye can also mean “much/a lot of” before uncountable nouns (e.g. mye vann = much water), but in your sentence it modifies the verb ler, not a noun.

Why is the word order ler mye and not mye ler?

Neutral Norwegian word order puts the verb early in the clause and most adverbs after the verb:

Publikummet ler mye … (Subject – Verb – Adverb)

Putting mye before ler (*Publikummet mye ler) is ungrammatical in normal Norwegian. Degree adverbs like mye, veldig, ofte typically come right after the main verb in simple sentences.

What does under mean here? Can it really mean “during”?

Yes. Besides the spatial meaning “under/beneath”, under is also a very common way to say “during” in a time sense:

under teaterstykket = during the play
under middagen = during dinner
under møtet = during the meeting

You could also say:

i løpet av teaterstykket (during/over the course of the play)
mens teaterstykket pågår (while the play is going on)

But under + noun is the most straightforward parallel to English “during + noun”.

How is teaterstykket built up, and what does it literally mean?

Teaterstykket is a compound noun with a definite ending:

teater = theatre (theatre as an art form or institution)
stykke = piece
teaterstykke = a theatre piece → a (stage) play
teaterstykket = the play (definite singular: “the theatre-piece”)

So under teaterstykket literally means “during the play.”

Why is it teaterstykket and not something like teateret?

Teateret (or teatret) normally refers to the theatre building or the institution:

Vi møtes utenfor teatret. = We’ll meet outside the theatre.

Teaterstykke/teaterstykket, on the other hand, is the actual play or piece being performed.

Since the sentence is about laughing during the performance itself, teaterstykket is the appropriate word, not teateret.

Can I change the word order to emphasize the time phrase under teaterstykket?

Yes. Norwegian allows you to move the time expression to the front for emphasis, but the verb must stay in 2nd position (V2 rule):

Neutral: Publikummet ler mye under teaterstykket.
With fronted time phrase: Under teaterstykket ler publikummet mye.

Both are correct. The second version puts more emphasis on when the audience laughs.

How would I say this sentence in the past tense: “The audience laughed a lot during the play”?

You only need to change the verb ler (present) to lo (past):

Publikummet lo mye under teaterstykket. = The audience laughed a lot during the play.

Everything else in the sentence stays the same, because publikummet, mye, under, and teaterstykket don’t change with tense.