14. 用that代单数名词，those代复数名词
“你车子的机器比我的好。”这句话译成英文时为“The engine of your car is better than mine.”。据说这是错误的，但不知错在什么地方，请详加说明。
【解答】译出的英文句子的确是错误的，因为比较不伦不类。句子的mine = my car，是代表整个的汽车，不能拿来代表汽车上的机器，所以应说“The engine of your car is better than that of mine.”才对。这样拿代表我车engine的that，与你车engine相比，自然就门当户对了。
如果所比的东西是一个复数名词的话，就要把that也改为复数，例如：
The houses of the rich are generally larger than those of the poor.（阔人的房子都比穷人的大。）
Modern schools are far better than those of a century ago.（现代的学校比一个世纪前的好得多了。）
Elizabeth’s expeditions by sea were in general more successful than those which she attempted by land.（伊丽莎白的海上远征，一般地看来，比陆上的远征更为成功。）
兹再举出几个单数that的例，以供参考：
The climate is like that of France.（气候和法国相像。）
His manner was that of a gentleman.（他的态度有君子风。）
The weight of an ox is much more than that of a horse.（牛重于马。）
The cost of oil is less than that of gas.（油的价钱少于煤气的价钱。）