DutchDude
New member
- Joined
- Jan 13, 2011
- Member Type
- Student or Learner
- Native Language
- Dutch
- Home Country
- Netherlands
- Current Location
- Netherlands
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
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