of his buddy that

[waverider]

- He created a small sculpture of his buddy that (or "whom") he deeply respects.

In the above sentence that I created, are "that" and "whom" interchangeable? I know "that" can be used for a person, but in the above sentence, is it correct grammatically?

 

[jutfrank]

You mean to make a non-defining relative clause, so you can't use that. You can use either who or whom instead. You also need a comma.

He created a small sculpture of his buddy, who he deeply respects.

 

[waverider]

You mean to make a non-defining relative clause, so you can't use that. You can use either who or whom instead. You also need a comma.

He created a small sculpture of his buddy, who he deeply respects.

a non-defining relative in this case, as in "he deeply respects" is a non-essential information?

I thought it is an essential information (restrictive clause) because "who" is "his buddy"? Oooh I think I'm confused!

 

[emsr2d2]

Is a non-defining relative clause in this case, as in "he deeply respects", is a non-essential information?

 

[5jj]

He created a small sculpture of the buddy of his that he deeply respects.
He created a small sculpture of his buddy, who(m) he deeply respects.

The relative clause in #1 is defining, in #2 non-defining.

#1 suggests he has more than one buddy, #2 that he has only one.

 

[jutfrank]

a non-defining relative in this case, as in "he deeply respects" is a non-essential information?

Yes.

I thought it is an essential information (restrictive clause) because "who" is "his buddy"?

No.

You can easily tell whether a clause is non-essential by simply removing it:

He created a small sculpture of his buddy.

 

[waverider]

You mean to make a non-defining relative clause, so you can't use that. You can use either who or whom instead. You also need a comma.

He created a small sculpture of his buddy, who he deeply respects.

I'm sorry. I still don't understand why using "that" is incorrect: He created a small sculpture of his buddy that he deeply respects.

 

[jutfrank]

I'm sorry. I still don't understand why using "that" is incorrect: He created a small sculpture of his buddy that he deeply respects.

Because you mean to make a non-defining relative clause, and you can't use that in non-defining relative clauses. Also, his buddy is a person, so you should use who.