"He explained to me this stuff"
Here the preposition phrase " to me" stands before direct object. Are there other verbs where prepositional phrase can be before direct object? Can I say, for example, "he offered to me this thing"?
Can you please provide me more information about this kind of verbs? Or some verbs with which I have to do the same.
You will not hear a native English speaker say "He explained to me this stuff" or "He offered to me this thing." However, as you can read in the comments, it is possible to construct a similar phrase that makes sense, so I suppose I can't say they are grammatically incorrect.
If you're wondering whether you can use those phrases, the answer is "No." Instead you should say the revised sentences below. You will find that when a sentence contains "to me," it most often ends the sentence. If it doesn't end the sentence, it usually begins the sentence.
He explained this stuff to me.
He offered this thing to me.
You can also say:
He offered me this thing.
But you cannot say:
He explained me this stuff.
English has a "habit" called End Weight. If possible, we like to put longer "heavier" phrases at the end of sentences. You see this, for example, in the way that English speaker will try to keep the subject of a sentence quite short, but may have long phrases after the verb.
Now suppose the direct object is "heavy". We might postpone it to after a short light prepositional phrase.
I contacted by email the department assistant who was processing my case.
It would not be ungrammatical to put "by email" at the end of the sentence, but by postponing the long direct object, you give it "end weight". However if the direct object is "light" (for example a pronoun, or a name) you would not postpone it.
I contacted John by email.
There is no real limit on the verb, eg "eat":
Leopold Bloom ate with relish the inner organs of beasts and fowls.
