Thread: "a"+"-ing" construction (a-walking, a-fi

I come upon this construction from time to time:

“I'm a-walking in the rain”

“I went a-fishing”

Why is the letter “a” sometimes placed before the verb form “-ing”? Does it simply show that some people pronounce something like schwa there?

It is colloquial.

Vadim,

It can be a (slightly old-fashioned; although, maybe Texans will still use it?!?), Western-style (as in cowboys ) way of talking. There's a lot of it in cowboymovies from the fifties. Or it can be "poetic" (imitating medieval language - but not very well ) - in songs, for example.
I'm not sure, but it could also be an afro- way of speaking; it's the kind of thing I wouldn't be surprised to hear a Jamaican use, or someone from New Orleans....

But for once, I don't agree with DDT - at least in Europe, it's not colloquial, people would be extremely surprised if you used it in an everyday conversation.

Thank you both, especially Yaga for the detailed answer.

Actually, the first example is from the song "Runaway" and the second is from Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe which I'm now reading. I can also remember seeing the same construction in A Study in Scarlet (the first book about Sherlock Holmes).

So I suppose you've hit the nail on the head, Yaga. Cheers!

The construction is quite common still among country folk in USA.

"He had his back to the flame and didn't notice that his pants were afire."

"Where you been?" "Awalkin' ".

Originally Posted by DDT

The construction is quite common still among country folk in USA.
Where you been?" "Awalkin' "

Well, yes, I thought so - but for me, as a European, it conjures up images of slightly unwashed men in cowboy hats.... Or maybe of George Dubya, hehe, wouldn't put it past him either. :P
But I'd be in hysterics if someone used it here....

"He had his back to the flame and didn't notice that his pants were afire."

Ойойойой, DDster darling - don't confuse our Russian friends now! "Afire" is a perfectly correct (albeit maybe a bit literary or oldfashioned) adverb - nothing to do with verbs or "a-something-ing".

Of course, you could say:
"He had his back to the flame and didn't notice that his pants a-fired", referring to the famous Aussie firing pants (in this case, back-firing)... :P

Songwriters and poets will sometimes use it to balance out the rhythm of what they are writing.

Thanks, I thought of that possibility too. “I'm a-walking in the rain” fits into the rhythm of the above mentioned song better than “I'm walking in the rain”.

http://www.lyricsondemand.com/e/elvispr ... yrics.html

Ten maids a-milking
Nine gays a-gaying
Eight geese a-laying
Seven lords a-leaping.

Yes, it conjures up pictures of Middle-America.

I can see it now at a press conference with Bush. "Uh,we're gonna go a-fightin'! Yee-Haw!"

This is not to be confused with putting "-a" after a word, to mock the way Italians speak.

From Sweeney Todd by Mr. Sondheim:

To shave-a the face
To pull-a the toot' (tooth)
Requires the grace
And not-a the brute

(P.S. For those who don't know, I was born and raised in NY...)

Thanks, I didn't know about that putting "-a" after a word.

Originally Posted by TATY

Nine gays a-gaying
.

They're what?

Originally Posted by ZelyeUrsuli

Yes, it conjures up pictures of Middle-America.

I can see it now at a press conference with Bush. "Uh,we're gonna go a-fightin'! Yee-Haw!"

This is not to be confused with putting "-a" after a word, to mock the way Italians speak.

From Sweeney Todd by Mr. Sondheim:

To shave-a the face
To pull-a the toot' (tooth)
Requires the grace
And not-a the brute

(P.S. For those who don't know, I was born and raised in NY...)

Ah, so not-a Italian-a then?