Some verbs can take a person directly after them: tell me, show me, give me. Others cannot. With explain, say, describe, suggest and talk, you need to before the person.
1. Verbs that need "to" before the person
- explain something to someone: Can you explain the rules to me?
- say something to someone: What did he say to you?
- describe something to someone: She described the house to us.
- suggest something to someone: He suggested a new plan to the team.
- talk to someone: He never talks to us about his problems.
Other verbs work the same way: mention, introduce, repeat, report.
2. Word order: the thing first, then "to" + person
The usual order is verb + thing + to + person.
- Can you explain this word to me?
- I'll describe the problem to you.
When the thing is a long phrase or a question, it can move to the end: Can you explain to me why the train is late?
3. Verbs that take the person directly
Compare with tell, show, give, send, ask and teach. They can take the person right after the verb.
- Tell me the truth.
- Show me your ticket.
- Can you teach me this song?
4. Suggest + -ing, not person + to
After suggest, you cannot use a person + to + verb. Use an -ing form, or "that" + a clause.
- ❌ He suggested me to take the train.
- ✔️ He suggested taking the train.
- ✔️ He suggested that I take the train.
5. Common mistakes
- ❌ Can you explain me this exercise?
- ✔️ Can you explain this exercise to me?
- ❌ She said me that she was tired.
- ✔️ She said to me that she was tired. / She told me that she was tired.
- ❌ Let me describe you the room.
- ✔️ Let me describe the room to you.
