Proper Use and Spelling of Colloquial Terms

[SteveClark]

I was writing a paragraph and found myself headed toward a concept where problems arise. I wanted to say, "when troubles comes a'knocking." I wondered how to best write the term a'knocking.

Should it be avoided entirely?
Is it a knocking?
Or, a-knocking?

I found many contradictory results in a massive web search with many online dictionaries refusing to post the term at all.

Any suggestions or authority sources I should seek?

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Also, I was recently told it is improper to start a sentence with a qualifying word like...

Therefore, I was left to wonder...
However, when I sat down to think about it...

Instead, I was told to include these types of sentences as an extension of the previous sentence leading into it with a semi-colon for separation.

***********************

Thank you for any help. I am just trying to avoid impropriety and confusion.

Steve

 

[Coolfootluke]

I am not a teacher.

The prefix "a-" in that sense makes hyphenated words: a-knocking. The American Heritage Dictionary has a useful note on the subject.

The AHD also has a note about that. I, personally, hate the semicolon with those. If you don't like it in first position, and neither do I, you can start a new sentence and embed the qualifying adverb where it really belongs: "His horse came in third. He, however, had won the only race that mattered, the race for Belinda's heart." (What do you want for nothing---F. Scott Fitzgerald?)

 

[SteveClark]

Thank you both for the feedback. It helps to have someone else's opinion when I am arguing my grammar usage over a margarita.