[General] A-fishing

[DutchDude]

Hi everyone. I am currently reading Thoreau's Walden. Not at all easy to read, especially for a Dutchman, haha! Its technical difficulties notwithstanding, I absolutely love it.

In order to truly understand what Thoreau wrote down, I look up all the words of which I do not know the meaning. Works like a charm, but alas, there is one curiosity I cannot seem to unravel... The prefix 'a-' followed by a verb.

"These times have been a-changing" or "(...) who often went there a-fishing (...)". "I went there a-chestnutting (...)".

Is it a mere literary decoration, something along the lines of a dialect, or does it actually alter the meaning of the verb?

Thank you for your time.

Cheers
DutchDude

 

[SoothingDave]

It's more of an old-fashioned type of use. It doesn't really alter the meaning. I could say I was waiting for a train or I was awaiting the train.

 

[5jj]

It's more of an old-fashioned type of use. It doesn't really alter the meaning. I could say I was waiting for a train or I was awaiting the train.

That's slightly different - 'wait' and 'await' are different verbs.

However, to 'go' or 'be a-verbing' is a consciously old-fashioned use, often in poems or songs. The 'a-' does not change the meaning.

 

[Ouisch]

"A-comin'", "a-fishin'", etc. is more of a homespun, country-ish, Huckleberry Finn-type way of saying things. There's an interesting discussion of the "proper" use of a- verbs at the beginning of this clip.

 

[bhaisahab]

That's slightly different - 'wait' and 'await' are different verbs.

However, to 'go' or 'be a-verbing' is a consciously old-fashioned use, often in poems or songs. The 'a-' does not change the meaning.

"We'll go no more a-verbing...";-) (apologies to Lord Byron)

 

[TheParser]

"These times have been a-changing" or "(...) who often went there a-fishing (...)". "I went there a-chestnutting (...)".

Is it a mere literary decoration, something along the lines of a dialect, or does it actually alter the meaning of the verb?

***** NOT A TEACHER *****


Hello,


(1) All the teachers have given you and me some really interesting

answers.

(2) I assume that you are interested in grammar, so I thought that

you might like this:

(a) My books tell me that many (many!!!) years ago, English speakers

use "a" as a preposition meaning "on." The -ing word after "a" was a

gerund. So "I went a-fishing" really meant "I went on fishing." As

time passed, people changed it to "I went fishing." And -- depending

on which explanation you accept -- "fishing" is now generally analyzed

as a participle (subjective complement of "I").



Sincerely,


James


P.S. You can still see this use of "a" in such words as:

asleep
aboard
away
etc.

 

[emsr2d2]

The last bit of that last post is interesting. I was under the impression that "asleep" came from "at sleep".

 

[BobK]

"We'll go no more a-verbing...";-) (apologies to Lord Byron)

Neat! ;-) Nursery rhymes are a good source of more examples:

'Where are you going, my pretty maid?'/'I'm going a-milking Sir' she said.

'A frog he [alias Froggy] would a-wooing go...'

I'm sure there are more.

b

 

[birdeen's call]

The last bit of that last post is interesting. I was under the impression that "asleep" came from "at sleep".

It comes from "on" according to my books too, but it's interesting that not all "a-" words have the same origin. Obviously, words like "amoral" don't, but even "aware" doesn't. "A-" in "aware" is etymologically completely different from "a-" in "asleep".

 

[emsr2d2]

And in The Twelve Days of Christmas:

"Twelve lords a-leaping..." (although I have a feeling they added the "a-" to fit in with the number of syllables required).

 

[bhaisahab]

And in The Twelve Days of Christmas:

"Twelve lords a-leaping..." (although I have a feeling they added the "a-" to fit in with the number of syllables required).

As did Byron with "a-roving" I'm sure.

 

[birdeen's call]

As did Byron with "a-roving" I'm sure.

Byron didn't think the line up actually, he stole it from a folk song. ;-)

 

[bhaisahab]

Byron didn't think the line up actually, he stole it from a folk song. ;-)

I know the two folk songs, "The Jolly Beggar" and "The Maid of Amsterdam/Plymouth Town" but I didn't know he took the line from there, I thought it possible that it was the other way round.

 

[birdeen's call]

I know the two folk songs, "The Jolly Beggar" and "The Maid of Amsterdam/Plymouth Town" but I didn't know he took the line from there, I thought it possible that it was the other way round.

"Jolly Beggar" is older than Byron's poem.