underscored的宾语是逗号后的that从句（that省略了）。underscored 和宾语从句之间插入了to sb这个状语。由于that省略，用逗号表示停顿，提示后面是宾语从句。通常主句谓语动词如果不是常用动词如think，say, tell, believe等，一般是不宜省略that的。这是不太严谨的用法。

say和that从句之间也常可以插入状语to sb. 例如：

He said to her that he would not come to the party.

另有一种可能的解释。以上句为例

He said to her that he would not come to the party.

He said to he为主句，that从句为从句，主句是主要信息，突出 he said这个事件, 说的具体内容为次要信息。

He would not come to the party, he said to her.

说的内容成了主句，为主要信息。说的动作为次要信息，用插入语从句表示。这种结构就是语法上的自由间接引语。插入语分句也可以位于句首：

He said to her, he would not come to the party. He said to her为插入语分句，逗号后为主句。插入语分句位于句首较为少见，以用于句末为多见。