Re: adjectives and adverbs

--- In conlang@yahoogroups.com, "Julia \"Schnecki\" Simon"
<helicula@g...> wrote:
Hello!

- as an ad-adjective: _hirveän iso_ "terribly big", not inflecting
  (even when the adjective it modifies is inflected, as in _hirveän
  isossa salissa_ "in a terribly big hall")


I have a question, please.  I know nothing about Finnish, but why is
it necessary to have a special name (ad-adjective) for this
category?  The word in the example seems to me to be nothing more
than an adjective with an adverbial ending in exactly the same way
as "terribly."  Can -än be added to any adjective to form an ad-
adjective?

In reading this thread I am reminded of a dialectal use of the
adjective as an adverb, not unlike German.  "That's a right smart
move you made."  "This is a terrible bad storm."

I delight in American regionalisms.  I was in Wal-mart the other day
and I overheard one woman say to another, "Are you goin' to the
pharmacy?  That's where I'm a-goin'."  I wonder if there's any rule
for when this "a-" can be used.

Charlie
http://wiki.frath,net/user:caeruleancentaur

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