The French indirect object explained easily

[bedtime]

This has confused me for so long: in what order do the words go in when using an object in French?

I was reading a book today (A Comprehensive French Grammar by Glanville Price) and found a very clear and simple explanation, and since it helped me, I figured it would help other French novices. I should note that I can't say much about the author's English grammar as I had to edit some of it (nothing terrible—minor punctuation) before posting it here.

Here is a near direct quote:

The indirect object

English in certain circumstances expresses the indirect object (i.e., the person or—occasionally—thing to whom or for whom something is given, sent, lent, shown, told, bought, etc.) merely by using the appropriate noun or pronoun without any preposition,
e.g.:

(a) He gave John a present (He gave a present to John)
(b) How many letters have you sent your brother (to your brother?)
(c) He won’t lend anyone his video-recorder (He won’t lend his video-recorder to anyone)
(d) You’ll have to show someone your passport (You’ll have to show your passport to someone)
(e) He has bought his wife a car (He has bought a car for his wife)

This is not possible in French—the indirect object is always (except for personal pronouns) indicated by the preposition à ‘to’ (or with some verbs, pour ‘for’). So the equivalents of the above sentences are:

(a) Il donna un cadeau à Jean
(b) Combien de lettres avez-vous envoyées à votre frère ?
(c) Il ne veut prêter son magnétoscope à personne
(d) Il vous faudra montrer votre passeport à quelqu’un
(e) Il a acheté une voiture pour sa femme

This was a real mind-blower for me. Maybe it will help someone else too.