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I know "that of" can be used to avoid a repeat in a sentence in this ways :

the weight of a Lion is the same as that of a tiger.

But in some other cases, it sounds weird for me to use "that of" (please see examples below).

In formal writing, can I use "that in", "that on" or etc, instead of "that of" in some specific cases?

Let me give you some actual examples.

I have read the following phrase in formal writing :

(0)The money spent on food by women in the UK in 1990.

Then, I'm sure about the variation of this phrase by replacing a noun like followings :

(1)The money spent on leisure by women in the UK in 1990

(2)The money spent on food by men in the UK in 1990

(3)The money spent on food by women in Japan in 1990

(4)The money spent on food by women in the UK in 2000

When I compare (0) and (4), I can write them explicitly.

The money spent on food by women in the UK in 1990 is greater than the money spent on food by women in the UK in 2000.

The Thing is that I'm not sure if I can reduce that sentence to "The money spent on food by women in the UK in 1990 is greater than that in 2000",instead of using "that of",

because the only difference between phrases is "2000" and preposition "in" should be used before the year.

"That of 2000" sounds so weird to me.

In the same vein, when I compare (0) and (1), Can I make the sentence like the following one? :

The money spent on food by women in the UK in 1990 is greater than that on leisure.

Can you reply me with proper answers comparing sentence between (0) and (1),(2),(3) and (4)?

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  • I'd use The money spent on food by women in the UK in 1990 was more than in 2000 or The amount of money spent on food by women in the UK in 1990 was greater than in 2000 or else I may rephrase the sentence entirely. Don't ask me why I'd prefer to drop that (even though I don't think having that there is wrong) because I don't know why. Even stranger, I'd keep that in the second example: The amount of money spent on food by women in the UK in 1990 was greater than that on leisure.
    – Damkerng T.
    Commented Jun 7, 2016 at 11:27
  • hmm First, thank you for your answer,,,, so you don't think that on leisure is wrong? then, when you use "that of" instead "that (the other preposition)" I suggested among the cases(1)~(4) ??
    – JBL
    Commented Jun 8, 2016 at 17:58
  • hmm First, thank you for your answer,,,, so you don't think that on leisure is wrong? then, how do you use "that of" instead of "that (the other preposition)" comparing case (0) and another case among(1)~(4) ??
    – JBL
    Commented Jun 8, 2016 at 18:06
  • Personally, I don't think than that in 2000 is wrong, but somehow I think it's less idiomatic than than in 2000. It's almost like it's about what feels right, or just better, for that matter. The same goes to all your cases. Also, keep in mind that there always are other possible alternatives, some of which may even sound better than your original.
    – Damkerng T.
    Commented Jun 8, 2016 at 18:06
  • oh your answer has been a great help!! thanks a lot! :)
    – JBL
    Commented Jun 8, 2016 at 22:03

1 Answer 1

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Just include the verb between the word "that" and the preposition "on" (or any other preposition you might use in that situation). You wind up with:

"The money spent on food by women in the UK in 1990 is greater than that [spent] on leisure."

A more complex comparison:

"The money spent by women on food in the UK in 2000 is more than that spent on leisure by men in Japan in 1990."

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1
  • Thank you for your answer. I haven't thought about Things you said. Then how do you use "that of" instead of the other prepositions when you make a comparison between sentence (0) and one of the sentences (1)~(4)?
    – JBL
    Commented Jun 8, 2016 at 18:07

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