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Topic: Use of a as in going a courting or going a shopping

I remember reading or seeing on television something about the (is 'feature' the correct description?) of English where the word a is included before a verb part ending in 'ing' (I put it like that as I am unsure if it is a participle or a gerund in this context).

I have heard it used, in such as (though I do not know if there should be a hyphen used if written)

"Where's Jim tonight?"

"Oh, he's gone a courting."

And I have heard,

"I'm going a shopping."

When I read or saw about it on television I think there was something about that it was prevalent in the New England part of the United States of America.

Maybe it is something from olden days that has been dropped in some places but not others.

I have tried to find about it on the web but without success yet, because I don't know what the feature is called.

Does anyone know about this please?

William

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Re: Use of a as in going a courting or going a shopping

William wrote:

I do not know if there should be a hyphen used if written

I only know of it with a hyphen, as in the nursery rhyme that tells of a frog that went “a-wooing”.

"Has it ever struck you that life is all memory, except for the one present moment that goes by you so quick you hardly catch it going?"
― Tennessee Williams
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Re: Use of a as in going a courting or going a shopping

William wrote:

I am unsure if it is a participle or a gerund in this context

I wasn’t sure about this until relatively recently, but it’s actually quite straightforward! It’s a gerund when it functions as a noun, otherwise it’s a participle (i.e. a verbal adjective).

William clearly enjoys writing. [gerund]
I wonder whether he uses a writing desk. [adjective]

"Has it ever struck you that life is all memory, except for the one present moment that goes by you so quick you hardly catch it going?"
― Tennessee Williams

4 Reply by William (edited by William 2022-04-03 22:00:06)

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Re: Use of a as in going a courting or going a shopping

Thank you.

"A writing desk" does have something of a Cyberiad-like ambiguity in it! smile

William