Re: USAGE : English past tense and participle in -et

On Fri, 26 Dec 2003, Costentin Cornomorus wrote:

> --- On 4 Niv�se, 212, Tristan McLeay screeved:
>
> > On Fri, 26 Dec 2003, Costentin Cornomorus
> > wrote:
> >
> > > --- Gary Shannon <fiziwig@...>
> > [complained about alot]:
> > >
> > > Well, a- is an old intensive particle in
> > English (as well as a present
> > > participal marker).
> >
> > Any examples? (historic or current). (A- has
> > alota meanings in English,
> > most dead or restrictet non-productively to
> > ahandfula words.)
>
> Well, there was a good example. Or do you mean as present participle
> marker? "A-hunting we will go!" etc. I think it's a reduced on-; and
> is still current, though mock serious in tone.
No, I meant a real example of it being an an old intensive particle, one
which isn't in doubt. The examples I provided can't count because it can
as easily and perhaps more accurately be argued that it's an indefinite
article (if we decide to use 'acre' in such a situation (a path I think
would be easy to go down), I would easily say 'I have an acre of tools';
I'm not sure what it'd be if it weren't the indefinite article).

> > > When you think about it, "a" in such phrases
> > really can't be the
> > > indefinite article, because the noun that
> > follows is always plural.
> > > (Can anyone think of any exceptions?)
> >
> > Well, in 'a lot of money', the 'a' doesn't
> > apply to the 'money': it
> > applies to the 'lot', cf. 'a person's house'
>
> Well, it depends. If I say I have alot of money, I don't mean I have
> money that's in a lot somewhere; it means I have very much money.
Yes, but no-one ever said that words only have one meaning, nor that they
couldn't be grammaticalised. With similar and equivalent expressions like
'handful', it is very clear and transparent what 'I have a handful of
sand' means: it means I have a hand holding as much sand as it can (and
hence alittle) (notwithstanding that 'handful' can also mean 'five', or
an amount difficult to keep in order (and hence alot), or others besides,
but I chose the most transparent use I could, and probably the
equivalent).

And even ignoring that, it still doesn't help your argument that '"a" in
such phrases really can't be the indefinite article, because the noun that
follows is always plural', because the noun that follows (handful, lot,
bunch) is always singular that I can see. Unless I misunderstand you?

--
Tristan

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