How to use "look forward to"

What Does "look forward to" Mean?

The phrasal verb look forward to means to feel excited or positive about a future event. It implies a sense of anticipation and pleasure regarding something that is expected to happen.

While the individual words "look" and "forward" have literal meanings, as a collocation, the expression is semi-idiomatic. You aren't literally looking in a physical direction; rather, you are mentally anticipating the future. In terms of register, it is highly versatile. It is a staple of formal business correspondence (e.g., "I look forward to your reply") but is equally common in neutral or informal daily conversation.

How to Use It

The grammatical structure of look forward to is specific and often trips up non-native speakers. It follows the pattern: subject + look forward to + [noun phrase / gerund (-ing)].

• Typical Complements: It is followed by a noun (e.g., "the weekend"), a pronoun (e.g., "it"), or a gerund (e.g., "meeting you").
• Inseparability: Unlike some phrasal verbs, the components of look forward to are inseparable. You cannot place an object between "look" and "forward" or between "forward" and "to."
• What sounds unnatural: Using the wrong preposition (e.g., "look forward for") or using a base-form infinitive (e.g., "look forward to meet") sounds highly ungrammatical to native speakers.

Real-World Examples

These examples are sourced from look forward to on Ludwig.guru.

"I look forward to sweating." — nytimes.com

"We look forward to trial." — nytimes.com

"I look forward to tomorrow." — nytimes.com

"Look forward to hearing more." — nytimes.com

"I'll look forward to your company." — theguardian.com

Similar Phrases and Alternatives

Phrase	Context
anticipate	More formal and clinical; can be used for both positive and negative future events.
await	Very formal; usually followed directly by a noun (e.g., "awaiting your response").
can't wait	Informal and highly enthusiastic; followed by an infinitive (e.g., "can't wait to see you").
count down the days	Idiomatic and informal; expresses extreme eagerness.
expect	Neutral; focuses on the likelihood of an event rather than the emotional excitement.

Common Mistakes

• The Infinitive Trap: Learners often mistakenly follow the 'to' with an infinitive verb (e.g., 'look forward to meet you') instead of a gerund or noun phrase. Because "to" is a preposition here, not part of an infinitive, it must be followed by a gerund (meeting).
• Wrong Preposition: Using "for" instead of "to" (e.g., "looking forward for the party") is a common error. The fixed particle sequence is always forward to.
• Separability Errors: Attempting to put the object in the middle (e.g., "look the meeting forward to") is incorrect; the phrase must remain intact.

Quick-Reference Summary

Expression	Meaning	Grammatical Pattern	Register
look forward to	To anticipate something with pleasure	look forward to + [noun/gerund]	Formal, Neutral, and Informal

FAQs

Can the words in look forward to be separated by an object?

No, look forward to is an inseparable phrasal verb. The three words must stay together as a single unit before the noun or gerund that follows.

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What is the difference between look forward to and anticipate?

While both involve the future, look forward to is almost always positive, whereas anticipate is more neutral. You can anticipate trouble, but you generally only look forward to things you enjoy.

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Should I use a verb or an -ing word after the preposition to?

Learners often mistakenly follow the 'to' with an infinitive verb (e.g., 'look forward to meet you') instead of a gerund or noun phrase. In this expression, to acts as a preposition, so you must use the -ing form of the verb.