“Explain me” or “explain to me”? Correct grammar

Say “explain something to someone” or “explain to someone”. “Can you explain it to me?” is correct; “Can you explain me?” is not.

The rule

Explain cannot take the person directly as an object. The person needs to: explain the rule to me, explain to me how it works.

The same pattern applies to describe, suggest, say, announce and introduce: “describe it to me”, “suggest a hotel to us”.

Compare with tell and show, which do take the person directly: tell me, show me.

Examples

• ✗ Can you explain me this word?

  ✓ Can you explain this word to me?

• ✗ He explained me the problem.

  ✓ He explained the problem to me.

• ✗ Please explain me how it works.

  ✓ Please explain to me how it works.

Why learners make this mistake

In Spanish (explícame), Portuguese (explica-me) and Italian (spiegami) the person attaches directly to the verb.

Frequently asked questions

Is “explain me” ever acceptable?

No, not in standard English. It is understood, but it sounds like a learner error.

Last updated 2026-09-30