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There must be some way to alert non-native speakers that native teachers of English and trained ESLs generally know what they are talking about.
Did you read this thread, Anon? Do we really have to waste our energies repeating ourselves over and over?
The verb is--> 'to look forward to' = 'to anticipate' (transitive = requires a direct object).So, the direct object should be the gerund (noun) form of the verb 'to meet', i.e. meeting.
The actual problem in this case is, that "to" is a preposition here andNOT part of the infinitive! Therefore the Gerund is required.
The phrasal verb 'look forward to' must be followed by a noun or, as in this case, a gerund, which is a noun equivalent.
Here are just a few cases where to is a preposition, not part of an infinitive. The -ing form is used with all prepositions; to is no exception.
shortcut to learning ...
approach to studying ...
key to learning ...
objection to going ...
secret to knowing ...
path to learning ...
aversion to doing ...
reference(s) to going ...
object to, look forward to, pay attention to, take exception to, taketo, resort to, get around to, contribute to, devote time to, amount to
be:
restricted to, limited to, reduced to, used to, accustomed to, averse to, given to, committed to
Most learners get confused by the infinitive “to”, thinking that after“to” the bare form of the verb must be followed. In fact, it's theopposit. A structure with “ looking forward to” is always follow by adirect object (noun or gerund).
Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. Sometimes I wonder why I am wasting my time here.