Verbs with 2 objects – Word order

Word order in English sentences with two objects

If there are two objects in a sentence, the normal word order is:

person → thing

Example:

• I must give my sister a book.
• I gave Mandy the letter.
• I gave her the letter.

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If the thing is a pronoun, it is put behind the verb.

I must give it to her.

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If we want to emphasize the person, we put the person after the thing. Then we use the preposition to.

Let's write the letter to John in California.

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Using the words describe, explain, report and say – we always put the person after the thing. Then we use the preposition to.

I explain this rule to you.