Ant_222  +  879690 Sun, 30 Aug 09 11:43 AM Hello, everybody In the following extract I have included the end of the preceding sentence to make the next one clearer: «...he was surely conscious, inexplicably conscious of some presence. Ay, surely; to every room and corner of the house his imagination followed it; and now it was a faceless thing, and yet had eyes to see with; and again it was a shadow of himself; and yet again behold the image of the dead dealer [Ant: whom he had just killed and whose body was lying on the floor], reinspired with cunning and hatred.» (Robert Louis Stevenson's "Markheim") I can't grasp the function of the word "behold" (underlined). Is it the verb of some clause? What's the subject then? And why is it used in the Present Simple tense? Who's the beholder? Thanks in advance, Anton Ant_222 Joined on Sun, May 21 2006 Podolsk, Russia Contributing Member 1,717 Tenses, Clauses, Present Tenses, Present Simple, Writing, Simples Tenses, Sentences

	Mister Micawber  +  879740 Sun, 30 Aug 09 12:28 PM It is imperative, and I suppose it is his consciousness telling him to behold (= look at) the image. Mister Micawber Joined on Wed, Aug 4 2004 Yokohama Veteran Member 30,822 'The question is,' said Humpty Dumpty, 'which is to be master-- that's all.' Sentences

	Anonymous  suggested by Anonymous  +  879758 Sun, 30 Aug 09 12:41 PM I humbly suggest: (l) "behold" is verb in imperative (command) mood. (2)"you" (understood) is the subject. (3) The imperative mood always uses the base (simple) form. E.g., Come here! Be quiet! (4) the beholder (looker) is "you."  Let's see how other contributors parse it. Anonymous Sentences

	Ant_222  +  879777 Sun, 30 Aug 09 01:04 PM Thank you for the feedback, I, too, tried to interpret it as an imperative form but failed. To me it is not clear at all how this conclusion follows from the sentence's structure. Below I have condensed it to make the overall structure easier to grasp: «<...> his imagination followed it; and now it was a faceless thing <...>; and again it was a shadow of himself; and yet again behold the image of the dead dealer <...>». Three "illusions" are described. The first two are expressed with full sentences ("it was" this, "it was" that), but the third one is an imperative sentence! How did you derive from the context who is commanding, and to whom? It is not indirect speech, and therefore I only can treat it as something form the author (words like lo! and behold! are used sometimes to emphasize a climax, but I am afraid it's not the case). I am still at a loss, although I have been given the answer :( Anton Ant_222 Whom, Sentences, Context, Speaking, Speeches, Conversational, Speech, Indirect