It's the mistake that makes a native speaker wince without being able to say why. Which is exactly why nobody corrects it.
Portuguese explica-me, Spanish explícame, French explique-moi, Italian spiegami. In all four the person attaches to the verb. Translate the habit and you get explain me.
English sorts verbs into two groups. Some take the person directly — tell me, give me, show me. Others require to: explain to me, say to me. No visible rule separates them, which is why the habit slips straight through.
And it's always the same verbs
These five belong to the to group. Miss explain and you'll miss all of them:
The rule that covers all of them
When in doubt, put the thing before the person: explain this to me, send the file to her. That order works with every verb in both groups — it's the path that never fails.
One honest caveat
With tell, give, show and send, the short form is perfect and more natural: tell me the truth. The rule above isn't the only correct one — it's the only one that never misfires.
You don't need one more rule to memorise. You need to speak and be corrected.
The mistake you just read is one of dozens — and almost nobody corrects them, because people understand you anyway.
- Actually speakJohn hears what you say and corrects you on the spot, with the reason why.
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