Stating Exceptions
When discussing dietary restrictions, you will frequently need to state exceptions. Swedish uses two common phrases to express "apart from" or "with the exception of".
Bortsett från (Apart from)
Bortsett från is the most common way to say "apart from" or "aside from".
| Apart from the fish, the meal was completely vegetarian. | Bortsett från fisken var måltiden helt vegetarisk. |
Notice the word order: when you start a sentence with a phrase like bortsett från fisken, the V2 (verb-second) rule applies. The phrase takes up the entire first position, so the verb (var) must come immediately after it.
Placing the phrase at the end of the clause leaves the main word order unchanged:
| He likes the diet, apart from the restriction. | Han gillar dieten, bortsett från begränsningen. |
Med undantag av (With the exception of)
Med undantag av translates to "with the exception of" (from ett undantag, an exception). It carries the exact same meaning as bortsett från but can sound slightly more formal.
| With the exception of one ingredient, the recipe is simple. | Med undantag av en ingrediens är receptet enkelt. |
Just like bortsett från, you can use it at the beginning or end of a sentence.
| We exclude everything with the exception of dairy products. | Vi utesluter allt med undantag av mejeriprodukter. |
Discussing Nutrition
These phrases pair perfectly with vocabulary for nutrition and dietary restrictions, such as kolhydrater (carbohydrates) or the verb att utesluta (to exclude).
| Apart from the sugar, the diet contains no carbohydrates. | Bortsett från sockret innehåller dieten inga kolhydrater. |
| Apart from the egg, I had to exclude all protein. | Bortsett från ägget var jag tvungen att utesluta allt protein. |