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Amy
meaning of before "~time ~before the workers passed by, before snow encased the mt~"
" From outside wafted one of the chanting songs the workers sang as they walked to the quarry. I hear a work song say winter is long. 'The sound came closer, and with it an insistence that it was time join in, hurry, hurry, before the workers passed by, before snow encased the mountain inside winter.'"
1.Does 'before' in 'before the workers passed by' and 'before snow encased the mountain' indicate 'time before', otherwise 'in front of'?
2.What does 'chanting songs' mean?
Nov 4, 2012 10:48 AM
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Answers · 6
1. in this sentence 'before' means - time before
2. 'chanting songs' means - singing songs
November 4, 2012
A Song is sung but when it is chanted, it is sung by a group in a common voice. Here in this sentence, the workers were chanting the song.
" hurry, hurry, before the workers passed by, before snow encased the mountain inside winter."
In this sentence, the word HURRY clearly lets us know of the time element in the sentence which helps us to identify that "before" means before time.
November 4, 2012
'Before' in that example indicates 'the time before something happens'. The speaker is saying that they should join in with the crowd before the people pass by & become too far into the distance etc.
'Chanting songs' implies a crowd is singing the song in unison.
November 4, 2012
