Breakdown of Chefen sa nej, med andra ord får vi vänta.
vi
we
nej
no
få
to be allowed to, may
chefen
the boss
Questions & Answers about Chefen sa nej, med andra ord får vi vänta.
Why is får translated as "have to" here, instead of "are allowed to"?
The verb få is notoriously tricky because it can mean "to get," "to be allowed to," or "must / have to." When få is paired with an unavoidable or less desirable action—like vänta (to wait), betala (to pay), or gå (to leave)—it almost always means you are forced to do it. The context tells us they aren't being granted permission to wait; they simply have no other choice.
Why is the word order får vi instead of vi får in the second half of the sentence?
This is a strict application of the Swedish V2 (verb-second) rule. The second clause begins with the adverbial phrase med andra ord (in other words). Since that phrase occupies the first position in the clause, the verb får must immediately follow it in the second position, pushing the subject vi to the third position.
Is it too informal to write sa instead of sade?
Not for everyday use. While sade is the traditional, formal written past tense of säga (to say), the phonetic spelling sa is now completely standard in almost all modern Swedish writing, including journalism and literature. You only need to use sade in highly formal, academic, or legal texts.
Could I use a single word instead of the phrase med andra ord to mean the same thing here?