Breakdown of Kan någon annan svara på min fråga?
Questions & Answers about Kan någon annan svara på min fråga?
Why does the sentence start with Kan?
Because Swedish yes/no questions usually put the finite verb first.
- Statement: Någon annan kan svara på min fråga.
- Question: Kan någon annan svara på min fråga?
This is similar to English Can someone else answer my question?
So kan comes first because the sentence is asking a yes/no question.
Does någon mean someone or anyone here?
It can feel like either in English, depending on context.
In questions, någon often corresponds to English anyone:
- Kan någon svara? = Can anyone answer?
But literally, någon is also the normal word for someone. So in this sentence, någon annan is best understood as someone else / anyone else.
What does annan mean here, and why is it after någon?
Annan means other, another, or else.
So:
- någon = someone / anyone
- någon annan = someone else / anyone else
The order is normal Swedish word order. Swedish says någon annan, not annan någon.
Other similar examples:
- något annat = something else
- ingen annan = no one else
- några andra = some others
Why is it svara på? Why can’t it just be svara?
Because when Swedish talks about answering a question, it normally uses the expression svara på.
So:
- svara på en fråga = answer a question
- svara på ett mejl = answer an email
- svara på ett sms = reply to a text
This is just the standard verb + preposition pattern you need to learn as a unit: svara på.
Why is it min fråga and not min frågan?
Because after a possessive like min, Swedish normally uses the noun in its indefinite form.
So:
- min fråga = my question
- not min frågan
This is a very important pattern in Swedish:
- min bok = my book
- mitt hus = my house
- mina vänner = my friends
English uses my + noun, and Swedish does the same idea, but without the definite ending.
Why is it min and not mitt or mina?
Because fråga is a singular en-word.
Swedish possessives change depending on the noun:
- min for singular en-words
- mitt for singular ett-words
- mina for plural nouns
Examples:
- min fråga = my question
- mitt svar = my answer
- mina frågor = my questions
Since fråga is an en noun, min is the correct form.
Is Kan någon annan svara på min fråga? a natural sentence in Swedish?
Yes, it is completely natural.
It sounds like something you might say in a classroom, online forum, meeting, or group conversation when you want a different person to answer.
If you want to sound a bit softer or more polite, you could also say:
- Skulle någon annan kunna svara på min fråga?
That feels a little more tentative, like Could someone else answer my question?
But Kan någon annan svara på min fråga? is perfectly normal.
How is någon pronounced in real speech?
In careful speech, it is någon. But in everyday spoken Swedish, it is very often reduced to nån.
So this sentence is often pronounced more like:
- Kan nån annan svara på min fråga?
That is very common in speech. In formal writing, though, någon is the standard spelling.
Could I also say Kan någon svara på min fråga? What difference does annan make?
Yes, you could.
- Kan någon svara på min fråga? = Can someone/anyone answer my question?
- Kan någon annan svara på min fråga? = Can someone else answer my question?
So annan adds the idea of else. It suggests that you want a different person, not the one who already answered, tried to answer, or is expected to answer.
What would the normal statement version of this sentence be?
The normal statement version is:
Någon annan kan svara på min fråga.
That means Someone else can answer my question.
This is useful because it shows the question pattern clearly:
- Statement: Någon annan kan svara på min fråga.
- Question: Kan någon annan svara på min fråga?
So the main change is that the verb kan moves to the front.
More from this lesson
Sign up free — start using our AI language tutor
Start learning SwedishMaster Swedish — from Kan någon annan svara på min fråga to fluency
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods.
- ✓ Infinitely deep — unlimited vocabulary and grammar
- ✓ Fast-paced — build complex sentences from the start
- ✓ Unforgettable — efficient spaced repetition system
- ✓ AI tutor to answer your grammar questions