Glossary entry (derived from question below)
English term or phrase:
a-changing
English answer:
doesn't mean anything (conversational & poetical speech)
Added to glossary by
Сергей Лузан
Feb 19, 2004 22:14
20 yrs ago
English term
a-changing
English
Other
Linguistics
Like in the title "Times They Are a-changing".
What does this "a" mean, if anything?
What does this "a" mean, if anything?
Responses
| 4 +3 | doesn't mean anything |
Сергей Лузан
|
| 5 +12 | not a thing... it's just to make the rythem work, and it's also slangy |
Marian Greenfield
|
| 5 +1 | it DOES mean something... |
LJC (X)
|
Responses
+3
39 mins
Сергей Лузан
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Always welcome! :)
Native in: Russian 
Works in: German to Russian, English to Russian, Spanish to Russian, and 7 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
8
Selected
doesn't mean anything
a+gerund was used frequently in conversational & poetical speech (Kipling) without giving any additional meaning. Good luck, maciejm!
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Note added at 2004-02-26 11:24:36 (GMT) Post-grading
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Thank you for grading, maciejm!
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Note added at 2004-02-26 11:24:36 (GMT) Post-grading
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Thank you for grading, maciejm!
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
+12
6 mins
Marian Greenfield
Native in English
&
English
Over 30 years in financial translation
Native in: English 
Works in: Spanish to English, Portuguese to English, English
Related KudoZ points
:
39
not a thing... it's just to make the rythem work, and it's also slangy
the tile means "the times are changing"
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
A-Z Trans (X)
: simply changing, in the process of changing
7 mins
|
| agree |
Mag. Sabine Senn
9 mins
|
| agree |
sarahl (X)
: a-gree!
14 mins
|
| agree |
Tony M
: Though sometimes it represents an old past tense [German ge-] as in "Summer is a-cumin in"
1 hr
|
| agree |
Kim Metzger
: rhythm - alive, alive-o!
2 hrs
|
| agree |
Rajan Chopra
3 hrs
|
| agree |
Alexandra Tussing
3 hrs
|
| agree |
Jörgen Slet
7 hrs
|
| agree |
James Calder
: rhythm, Marian. Happens to us all.
7 hrs
|
|
Yes, thanks James... bad fingers!!!!!
|
|
| agree |
David Moore (X)
: but I disagree with the assertion that it's slangy; it's just old-fashioned.
13 hrs
|
| agree |
Mario Marcolin
: old-fashioned but very much alive
16 hrs
|
| agree |
Nikita Kobrin
1 day 9 mins
|
+1
14 hrs
it DOES mean something...
Out of curiosity, I looked this up in New Oxford and this is what I found:
"a- prefix
in the process of (an activity) a-hunting"
so, the times are in the process of changing - the times they are a-changing.
"a- prefix
in the process of (an activity) a-hunting"
so, the times are in the process of changing - the times they are a-changing.
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
Eva Olsson
: But "are changing" means that, too.
4 hrs
|
| agree |
Kim Metzger
: Excellent point. In King Lear, Edgar says "Tom's a-cold". The -a prefix can have lots of meanings.
1 day 4 hrs
|
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