Direct Object & Indirect Object

few English verbs, such as to describe, to distribute, to explain and to say, can take an indirect object only when the indirect object is preceded by a preposition. In the following examples, the direct objects are printed in bold type, and the indirect objects are underlined.
e.g. He described his experiences to the reporters.
They distributed the leaflets to their friends.
We explained the situation to the participants.
She said something to her teacher.

These verbs cannot take an indirect object which immediately follows the verb. One reason for this may be to avoid creating sentences which are ambiguous or confusing. For instance, a sentence which began with the words He described the reporters... would create the impression that it was the reporters who were being described. When the reporters is preceded by the preposition to, there is no ambiguity.