change
part of speech
noun (change, a change, changes; change = coins — uncountable); verb (change, changes, changed, changing)
meaning for a pupil
1) To change is to make something different, or to become different. tree →
2) A change is a time when something becomes different. tree →
3) Change is the money you get back when you pay more than the price. tree →
4) Change is also coins, like loose change in your pocket. tree →
5) To change clothes is to take some off and put others on. tree →
6) To change trains or buses is to get off one and onto another. tree →
7) (casual) «Keep the change», «got any change?», «spare change?» are about money; «that makes a change» (often sarcastic) means that is unusual. tree →
8) (casual, rude) «Change the record» (UK) means stop saying the same thing; «you'll never change» can be a complaint. tree →
9) (euphemism) «The change» (old) means the time when a woman stops having periods; «a change of role» or «restructuring» may mean losing a job. tree →
10) (formal) Exams say «alter», «modify», «vary», «transform», «the variation», «the net change», «the increment», «the decrement» and «the balance tendered». tree →
sense in the lessons
maths: money back after paying (change = money paid − price); also how much something grows or shrinks, the difference between the old and the new amount; science: changes of state (ice melts into water), changes in the weather and the seasons; everyday life: change clothes, change your mind, change a light bulb, a change of plan; stories: a character changes and learns; phrases: «for a change», «change your mind», «small change», «keep the change»; in casual talk «got any change?», «that makes a change», «quick change»; in rough talk «change the bloody record», «you'll never change»; in the exam voice «compute the change due to the purchaser», «the net change», «the variation in temperature»
examples
- She paid 10 dollars for a 7-dollar book. What is her change? tree →
- The temperature changed by 5 degrees. tree →
- He has 2 dollars in change. tree →
- Leaves change colour in the fall. tree →
- Please change into your PE clothes. tree →
- We changed buses at the station. tree →
- Ice changes into water when it melts. tree →
- She changed her mind and picked the blue one. tree →
- Let's eat outside for a change. tree →
- Here's a tenner, keep the change. tree →
- You're on time, that makes a change! tree →
- A purchaser tenders 10 dollars for an article priced at 7 dollars. Compute the change due. tree →
- Really I've no change just now." tree →
note
Change back = money paid − cost. Trap: «change» alone may also mean coins, or the difference between two amounts. «Change» as money has no plural: «some change», not «changes». «A change in temperature» is new − old; if it went down, the change is a fall, not a rise. «tenders 10 dollars» in an exam means pays with 10 dollars; «the change due» is what you get back. «keep the change» means the change is a gift.
In the corpora
- Shops, hospitals, buses and factories need people at all hours, so their workers follow a rota that can change every week.
- A newborn baby changes a whole house.
- Babies wear nappies, which are changed six to ten times a day, and nappy cream stops sore skin.
- When people want something changed, they can protest peacefully, sign a petition, or stop work together in a strike.
- Rules and laws are shared agreements; people follow them even when they dislike them, and change bad ones through proper ways.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «change» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.