Is To be

Question

Our vision is to be the best for specialist and integrated care.If main verb is "is" then what parts of speech of "to be" here and if we remove it does the sentence make sense?

AlpheccaStars · Accepted Answer

JigneshbharatiIf main verb is "is" then what parts of speech of "to be" here

It is a non-finite (infinitive) clause which functions as a subject complement.
The subject and complement can be switched, although it's not as natural.

To be the best for specialist and integrated care is our vision.

Jigneshbharatiif we remove it does the sentence make sense?

No. Vision speaks of a future desired state. So you need "to be" to express that future state.

Anonymous · Answer

Jigneshbharati Our vision is to be the best for specialist and integrated care.If main verb is "is" then what parts of speech of "to be" here and if we remove it does the sentence make sense?

"to be the best for specialist and integrated care", a non-finite clause, is a subject complement following the linking verb "is" in that sentence.
"to be" is a predicator in the non-finite clause.

Jigneshbharati · Answer

What is "to be"  predicator ?

Jigneshbharati · Answer

Thanks

AlpheccaStars · Answer

Jigneshbharatipredicator

Some linguists call verbs "predicators" because a predicate is the part of the sentence that starts with a verb.

Jigneshbharati · Answer

Is the whole complement-"to be....care" called predicator? Thanks

AlpheccaStars · Answer

No. The predicator consists of the verbal elements of the sentence only.
Here are some references to "Predicator" in dictionaries and technical books on grammar.

Predicator: (in systemic grammar) the part of a sentence or clause containing the verbal group; one of the four or five major components into which clauses can be divided, the others being subject, object, adjunct, and (in some versions of the grammar) complement.
— Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014

The predicator has a fairly straightforward definition. It consists only of verbal elements: an obligatory lexical verb and one or more optional auxiliary verbs. In addition, only these elements can function as predicator, and they cannot have any additional functions. Subjects, however, are more varied in form — they can be noun phrases or certain types of clauses — and these forms can have other functions as well: noun phrases, for instance, can also function as objects, complements, or adverbials. For this reason, subjects are defined in terms of their position in a clause and their relation to the predicator.
— Charles F. Meyer, Introducing English Linguistics. Cambridge University Press, 2010

"Traditionally, the single independent clause (or simple sentence) is divided into two main parts, subject and predicate. . . . The predicate can consist entirely of the Predicator, realised by a verbal group, as in 1 below, or the Predicator together with one or more other elements, as in 2:

1. The plane landed.
2. Tom disappeared suddenly after the concert.

What can occur in a clause is very largely determined by the predicator. For example, it is a crucial property of the verb like that it permits occurrence of an object (indeed, it normally requires one in canonical clauses)."
— Rodney Huddleston and Geoffrey K. Pullum, A Student's Introduction to English Grammar. Cambridge University Press, 2006

The predicator is the central syntactic element in a sentence. This is the case because it is the predicator which determines the number of complements that will occur and, indeed, whether a particular element is a complement or an adjunct."
— Stephan Gramley and Kurt-Michael Pätzold, A Survey of Modern English, 2nd ed. Routledge, 2004

Jigneshbharati · Answer

Thanks a lot for this wonderful explanation

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