common mistake: "than ***"

Question

Hello all,I noticed a common mistake where people don't make valid comparison. E.g.My score is higher than Tom.  It should beMy score is higher than that of Tom.Am I right? Thank you.

Old Man Gordon · Accepted Answer

It should be "Tom's."

"That of Tom" may be correct, but not conversational.

Kooyeen · Answer

Hi,
good question. I wonder if that is actually used by native speakers.
I think "My score is higher than that of Tom" would be too formal for everyday English, and "My score is higher than the one of Tom" sounds awful to me. Maybe the common way to say it is:

"My score is higher than Tom's"

New2grammar · Answer

I use the construction below quite often. So I hope that it's not wrong. <cross my fingers>

"My score is higher than Tom's"

Wow. Can you really use this in writing: "My score is higher than that of Tom" ? And this is considered formal instead of wrong?

Yoong Liat · Answer

New2grammarI use the construction below quite often. So I hope that it's not wrong. <cross my fingers>

"My score is higher than Tom's" (This is fine.)

Wow. Can you really use this in writing: "My score is higher than that of Tom" ? And this is considered formal instead of wrong? (If the above sentence is correct, why use this sentence which is longer. I would say that it's not wrong.)

Yankee · Answer

Hi Cogar (and N2G)

In your sentence, saying "than that of Tom" is an inappropriate use of "than that of". I'd say it would mainly be used when a possessive would normally not be used at all or when a possessive would be awkward, and it is usually found in more formal contexts.

For example, it would sound completely ridiculous to say this:
"The score of Mary is higher than the score of Tom."

Instead you would say this:
"Mary's score is higher than Tom's."

Here is a good example for the use of "than that of" (taken from the BNC -- which, by the way, is a good source for examples of usage):
The total capital of all those AGs is smaller than that of the 360,000 so-called private limited companies.

BNC

New2grammar · Answer

Thank you Amy and Yoong Liat!!

Cogar · Answer

YankeeHi Cogar (and N2G)

In your sentence, saying "than that of Tom" is an inappropriate use of "than that of". I'd say it would mainly be used when a possessive would normally not be used at all or when a possessive would be awkward, and it is usually found in more formal contexts.

For example, it would sound completely ridiculous to say this:
"The score of Mary is higher than the score of Tom."
Instead you would say this:
"Mary's score is higher than Tom's."

Here is a good example for the use of "than that of" (taken from the BNC -- which, by the way, is a good source for examples of usage):
The total capital of all those AGs is smaller than that of the 360,000 so-called private limited companies.

BNC

Thank you Yankee.

Capital is an attribute of a company, just like intelligence is an attribute of a person. So can I say,

My intelligence is higher than that of Tom?

Marius Hancu · Answer

You may want to read the answer given in another forum. It's what I would've suggested too (both correct):

http://thegrammarexchange.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/340600179/m/7391096144

Yankee · Answer

Hi Cogar

Let's put it this way:

You seem to think it is OK to use the possessive pronoun "my" but not "Tom's" with the word "intelligence".
Don't you see a contradiction in that?

Tom's (intelligence) would be a normal phrase, but "the intelligence of Tom" would not be usual -- especially not with "my intelligence" in the very same sentence. Tom possesses intelligence. It is easy and correct to use the possessive form "Tom's".

The sentence in itself is odd because we wouldn't usually say it that way. We'd use the adjective to talk about this attribute:
I am more intelligent than Tom (is).

Or you could say:
My IQ is higher than Tom's. That means: I possess/have a higher IQ than Tom does.

------------------------------------------------------

Let's go back to the sentence from the BNC:

The total capital of all those AGs is smaller than that of the 360,000 so-called private limited companies.

It would be extremely awkward (and basically unintelligible) to say this instead:
"All of those AGs' total capital is smaller than the 360,000 so-called private limited companies' (capital)."

The possessive form with 'of' can be used in simple sentences and/or with simple nouns, but I'd save it mainly for use with inanimate objects. For example:

The walls of the room had been painted a shocking shade of pink.
'Room' is not a living being or creature; a room is an inanimate thing.

I hope that helps.

Yankee · Answer

Marius HancuYou may want to read the answer given in another forum. It's what I would've suggested too (both correct):

http://thegrammarexchange.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/340600179/m/7391096144

Hi Marius

It may be technically or purely "prescriptively" correct to say "than that of Tom", but it would sound completely alien 99.9999% of the time in a sentence such as the one Cogar gave -- so alien that Cogar's sentence could rightfully be considered to be incorrect.

common mistake: "than ***"

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