Grammar

Question

"Imagine him, all six foot four of him with his beard and his stovepipe hat, giving what has become one of the greatest speeches in American history."

I'm trying to analyze this because I want to understand what "giving" is in this sentence.
I also want to know what is the subject and verb.
I tried to simplify the sentence to this,
"Imagine him giving what has become the greatest speech in American history."

I think maybe "Imagine" is the verb.
"giving" is part of a noun phrase.
I'm confused on the subject.

Is this right?

AlpheccaStars · Accepted Answer

sandulackI think maybe "Imagine" is the verb.

Yes. The subject is "you."
Imperative sentences have the subject "you," but it is usually omitted.

sandulack"Imagine him giving what has become the greatest speech in American history."

Good.

There are two different ways to analyze the part "him giving what has become the greatest speech in American history."

1. It is a non-finite clause, which is the complement (object) of the verb "imagine." The subject is "him" and the verb is "giving."
2. The complement (object) of the verb "imagine" is "him", and the remaining is non-finite clause which modifies "him."

Sandulack · Answer

That's excellent! Thank you ??. Now I know it's possible to have a sentence without a subject directly mentioned.
I think I'll go with number 2. That way of looking at it is easier to understand.

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