Breakdown of Kan någon annan svara på min fråga?
kunna
be able to
min
my
frågan
the question
svara på
to answer
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?