I am not sure if the phrase Times are a changing is used exclusively within or related to the Bob Dylan song but the A is bugging the hell out of me every time I see it. Why is there an indefinite article in front of an adjective which is not followed by a noun?
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amphibient
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Because it's not an indefinite article. It's "Times are a - changing"; and here's the a (first entry). – Matt Gutting Dec 03 '14 at 19:32
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Possible duplicate of The times they are a-changin' — or The times are a-changing? Why a-? ; also see What does the “a’ ” in “a’blowing” signify and What we've gelost — why doesn't English use the prefix “ge-”? – choster Dec 03 '14 at 19:34
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1It's a dialectal prefix that goes on participles in some dialects. It's not an article. – John Lawler Dec 03 '14 at 19:34
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This is a dialect relic of the oldest form of the progressive construction, going back to OE: BE + the preposition an/on + a noun or a gerund.
The preposition was gradually reduced to a neutral vowel /ə/, spelled {a}, and the gerund eventually collapsed into the -ing form.
The same construction with nouns gave rise to many of the modern postposed adjectives beginning a-: asleep (on sleep), awake (on wake), alive (on life).
StoneyB on hiatus
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