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Lucas21c Posted 12 years ago
Grammar

Present participle

I extracted the following lines from a famous TV sitcom, "The Big Bang Theory."
However, the bold underlined part sounds strange and broken to me.
Could you explain to me how it can be right? (You may add ',' or '.' to the sentence to make it clearer)
Thank you.

Penny: Leonard, did you do this?
Sheldon: Actually, that's my work. Yeah. Well, it's just some quantum mechanics with a little string theory doodling around the edges. (Who 'doodled' on the whiteboard here? 'string theory? No. It's definitely Sheldon. That's why this part sound awkward to me. If you wanted, you could watch it here, http://youtu.be/ZFS1F-3XVtk - the scene starts from 3:10) That part there, that's just a joke. It's a spoof of the Born-Oppenheimer approximation.
Penny: So you're like one of those Beautiful Mind genius guys. This is really impressive.
  

Top answer

lucas21c a little string theory doodling 'Doodling' is the noun head of this noun phrase. The other sentences you have bolded are trouble-free and natural. Which parts specifically worry you?

— Mister Micawber

  • lucas21c a little string theory doodling 'Doodling' is the noun head of this noun phrase.
  • The other sentences you have bolded are trouble-free and natural.
  • Which parts specifically worry you?
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12 Answers
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lucas21ca little string theory doodling
'Doodling' is the noun head of this noun phrase. The other sentences you have bolded are trouble-free and natural. Which parts specifically worry you?
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So, you mean 'with a little string theory doodling,' not 'with a little string theory // doodling around the edges,' right?
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lucas21cit's just some quantum mechanics with a little string theory doodling around the edges.
I would parse it thus:

with (=that has) a little string theory | (which is) doodling (= attached/included haphazardly) around the edges.

Compare:

It's just a tablecloth with a few tassels hanging off the edges.
It's a rose wi
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CalifJimI would parse it thus:with (=that has) a little string theory | (which is) doodling (= attached/included haphazardly) around the edges.
I don't see why we can't use Occam's razor: it is string theory (adj,) doodling (n.)...or is that what you said?
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Thank you for your answer, CJ.
However, according to your answer, the subject of 'doodling' must be 'a string theory,' not Sheldon.
And, I think it sounds unnatural because a theory is written, not writing.
If I misunderstand something about that grammar, please tell me about it.
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Mister Micawber it is string theory (adj,) doodling (n.)...or is that what you said?
No, it's not what I said. I can see that interpretation, but it wasn't the first thing that came to mind when I read the sentence. I wasn't trying to come up with some novel alternative parsing. It's just how the sentence struck me. I interpret it in the same way I would i
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When I watched the video, the [a little string theory doodling] [around the edges] interpretation seemed much more likely to me.
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lucas21c... according to your answer, the subject of 'doodling' must be 'a string theory,' not Sheldon.
Right. It seems that neither you nor Mr. M. are very fond of the idea that the topic of string theory could "doodle", which I took, perhaps with too much imagination, to mean something like "potter" or (less accurately) "loiter". Thus, ... with string
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Aspara GusWhen I watched the video, the [a little string theory doodling] [around the edges] interpretation seemed much more likely to me.
It appears that the votes are in, or at least enough to predict the results in most precincts. Time to make my concession speech?
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The sentence was ambiguous to me before I watched the video. Did anyone else watch it?
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