# See Spot Run **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [May 3, 2001, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/see-spot-run/64242 "2001-05-03T17:53:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sprought](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Sprought](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sprought)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2001, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/see-spot-run/64242/1 "2001-05-03T17:53:36Z")
Hm…“See spot run” sounds imperative to me. sprought ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2001, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/see-spot-run/64242/2 "2001-05-03T18:44:51Z")
Linking to the column is imperative. [How do you diagram the sentence, “See Spot run”?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a980814a.html) ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2001, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/see-spot-run/64242/3 "2001-05-03T22:22:46Z")
In “See Spot run,” “See” is imperative, & “run” is infinitive. You could also say this with a gerund: “See Spot running.” Or a dependent clause: “See Spot as he runs.” ---
**Author:** ![Kalt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Kalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalt)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2001, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/see-spot-run/64242/4 "2001-05-04T03:50:34Z")
another way of saying the sentence is “Watch spot run.” doesn’t seem too tricky. it is just an imperative - a command… not an awkwardly structured question. See… watch… same thing, just a odd word choice. Those kid books dont use words more than 4 letters - watch is 5, so they use “see” instead… only 3. Simple. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2001, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/see-spot-run/64242/5 "2001-05-04T05:01:57Z")
The problem is not the imperative, Kalt. The question is, what is the function of “run” in that sentence? ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2001, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/see-spot-run/64242/6 "2001-05-05T07:09:07Z")
In the case of my neighbor’s dog you don’t diagram, you re-punctuate; See spot? Run! I’m leaving now. Peace, mangeorge ---
**Author:** ![bbalmer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/96bed5/32.png) [@bbalmer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bbalmer)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2001, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/see-spot-run/64242/7 "2001-05-06T19:36:53Z")
I asked this question of a friend of mine who is a retired editor of the Encyclopedia Brittanica. After thinking about it for a moment, he said, “Imagine that ‘Spot Run’ is a small creek near Washington D.C.” Funny guy! ---
**Author:** ![Symblized](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Symblized](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Symblized)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2001, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/see-spot-run/64242/8 "2001-05-07T01:08:27Z")
The sentence could (if put most clearly written) read “If you look above these words, there is a picture of a dog named Spot. The picture shows Spot running.” ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2001, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/see-spot-run/64242/9 "2001-05-07T01:13:02Z")
Welcome to the SDMB, and thank you for posting your comment. Please include a link to Cecil’s column if it’s on the straight dope web site. To include a link, it can be as simple as including the web page location in your post (make sure there is a space **before** and **after** the text of the URL). Cecil’s column can be found on-line at the link provided by **bibliophage**. * * * moderator, «[**Comments on Cecil’s Columns**](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/forumdisplay.php?forumid=1)» ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2001, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/see-spot-run/64242/10 "2001-05-08T17:42:10Z")
Symblized, no fair rewording the sentence. Besides, it doesn’t have to be talking about a picture in the book. Example: You know I’m a great fisherman. Why don’t you watch me fish, so you can learn how I do it? If you take away the dependent clause at the end, and ignore the phrasing as a question, the essence in the middle of this sentence is “watch me fish”, which is exactly the same structure as “see Spot run”. Watch is the imperative verb, with “me fish” as the direct object, a noun clause, and “fish” as an infinitive. (No intent to claim I can fish, or you can’t. 😉 )