Learn Swedish: Har patienten några problem förutom sjukdomen? - Does the patient have any problems besides the disease?

Yes! Even though we write it as a single word today, it is historically built from two parts: för and utom (outside/except). It functions just like the other multi-word prepositions in this lesson.

In English, "besides" can mean "in addition to" or "except for." Which one does förutom mean here?

Förutom primarily means "except for" or "apart from." The person is asking if there are any other issues excluding the known illness. While Swedish has a specific word for "in addition to" (utöver), förutom is often used for both meanings in everyday speech.

Since problem is an ett word, shouldn't "any" be något? Why does this sentence use några?

Problem is an ett word that looks exactly the same in its indefinite plural form (one problem = ett problem, several problems = flera problem). Because the sentence is asking about plural "problems," we must use the plural word for "any," which is några.

How does the word sjukdomen break down?