I heard this sentence from a movie. What does this mean? Each word is not difficult but I can't guess the setence's meaning.
We got a situation.
I heard this sentence from a movie. What does this mean? Each word is not difficult but I can't guess the setence's meaning.
We got a situation.
What no one seems to have mentioned is that got is a colloquial, down-register substitution for have or have got or even have gotten. In fact, it can substitute for any verb that means to acquire.
We got a dog.
This can mean
We have a dog.
You will hear this used informally all the time, but you would be well advised not to use it in academic or formal writing. If you're writing for the sports page, though, no problem.
Other meanings are:
We acquired a dog.
We purchased a dog.
We were given a dog.
Used in this sense, got is the past tense of get, and the simple past is no problem in any kind of writing or speaking. Which brings us to the next point.
As far as "We got a problem" goes, the most likely interpretation is that have has been dropped from the sentence's syntax. It's this that makes it colloquial and down-register. To promote it a level in formality, you would say
We've got a problem.
Note that using uncontracted have would be to make a more forceful statement:
We have got a problem.
Whereas the former statement is merely a more or less uncolored declaration, the latter alerts the listener that the problem is serious.
situation
: an important or sudden problem
- b : a critical, trying, or unusual state of affairs : problem
Without further context, it likely means we have a problem.
It means you have a problem. But not just any problem, but a very serious problem. If a customer comes to your shop complaining about something they bought, then you have a problem. If that customer carries a gun, then you have a situation.
So you may hear "we have a situation" quite regularly if you watch action movies. In real life, I haven't ever used "we have a situation" or heard it used.