Vem som än ringer mig under mötet, svarar jag inte.

It means whoever or no matter who.

So Vem som än ringer mig under mötet means something like whoever calls me during the meeting / no matter who calls me during the meeting.

This is a common Swedish pattern for expressing it doesn’t matter who / what / where / when.

In this construction, Swedish normally uses the pattern:

question word + som + än

So:

• vem som än = whoever
• vad som än = whatever
• var som än = wherever
• när som än = whenever

Here, som is part of the fixed structure, and än adds the sense of no matter / ever.

So you should learn vem som än as a unit.

Because Swedish often uses the present tense for future meaning when the context is clear.

So Vem som än ringer mig under mötet, svarar jag inte can naturally mean:

• Whoever calls me during the meeting, I won’t answer
• or more generally I don’t answer during the meeting

This is very normal in Swedish.

Because ringa usually takes a direct object when you mean call someone.

So:

• ringa mig = call me
• ringa honom = call him
• ringa Anna = call Anna

A native English speaker may expect something like call to me, but Swedish normally just says ringa någon.

Because the sentence begins with a clause:

Vem som än ringer mig under mötet

After that introductory clause, the main clause follows normal Swedish V2 word order. In a main clause, the finite verb comes in the second position.

So the structure is:

1. introductory clause
2. finite verb of the main clause: svarar
3. subject: jag
4. negation: inte

That is why you get:

..., svarar jag inte.

and not:

..., jag svarar inte.

Because this part is a main clause, and in Swedish main clauses, inte usually comes after the finite verb and the subject.

So:

• Jag svarar inte
• Nu svarar jag inte
• ..., svarar jag inte

Compare that with a subordinate clause, where inte usually comes before the finite verb.

So this sentence is a good example of normal main-clause word order.

Not always.

In Swedish, commas are often used less than in English. After a long introductory clause, a comma can be used for clarity, but many writers would also accept:

Vem som än ringer mig under mötet svarar jag inte.

So the comma here is possible and helpful, but not always strictly required.

It means during the meeting.

• under = during
• mötet = the meeting

The -et ending makes möte definite:

• ett möte = a meeting
• mötet = the meeting

So under mötet literally means during the meeting.

Most naturally, it describes the calling:

Whoever calls me during the meeting, I don’t answer.

In practice, the whole sentence also implies your behavior during the meeting, so the idea is very clear: if someone calls while the meeting is going on, you do not pick up.

Here, svara is understood as answer the phone / pick up.

Swedish often leaves the object unstated when it is obvious from context. So:

svarar jag inte
= I don’t answer
= I don’t pick up
= I don’t answer the call

All of those are natural ways to understand it.

They are related, but they are not used in exactly the same way.

• vem som helst = anyone
• vem som än ringer = whoever calls / no matter who calls

Examples:

• Vem som helst kan göra det. = Anyone can do it.
• Vem som än ringer, svarar jag inte. = Whoever calls, I don’t answer.

So vem som än is especially common when it is followed by a clause.

Yes. This is a very useful pattern in Swedish.

Some common examples:

• vad som än händer = whatever happens
• var som än finns = wherever it is
• när som än passar dig = whenever it suits you
• hur det än går = however it goes / no matter how it goes

So once you learn vem som än, you can reuse the same idea in many other sentences.