I would call it an infinitive phrase (form) with an adverbial function,
modifying the adjective "able."

This is a common pattern:

happy to see you
eager to please
ready to go
willing to help


Don Stewart
www.writeforcollege.com
www.writing123.com




On Fri, Apr 29, 2011 at 6:26 PM, Larry Beason <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Looks like an adverbial phrase modifying 'able'.  I suppose one could make
> the case it modifies the linking verb 'became'.
>
> Larry
>
> Larry Beason
> Associate Professor & Composition Director
> Dept. of English, 240 HUMB
> Univ. of South Alabama
> Mobile AL 36688
> (251) 460-7861
> >>> Scott Woods <[log in to unmask]> 04/29/11 4:31 PM >>>
> Dear List,
>
> How would you characterize the function of the underlined infinitive phrase
> in
> the sentence below?
>
>
>    I suddenly became able to improve my basketball game without trying.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Scott Woods
>
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