I am looking forward to (meet / meeting)? you

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sheerinshaikh

#8744 Mon, 22 Sep 03 08:31 AM

pls tell me which is correct sentence

IAM LOOKING FORWARD TO MEET YOU

OR

IAM LOOKING FORWARD TO MEETING YOU.

& why please?

pls reply me soon.

thanks.

sheerinshaikh

Joined on Sat, Aug 23 2003

New Member (29)

ryan smith

#8747 Mon, 22 Sep 03 09:24 AM

Correct: I'm looking forward to meeting you.

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.

In contrast: "I'm waiting to meet you".

PS: I hope that all my grammar jargon is correct.

ryan smith

Joined on Tue, Sep 9 2003

CLASSIFIED

Full Member (199)

Grammar, Verbs, Nouns, Gerunds, Direct Objects

maj

#8753 Mon, 22 Sep 03 09:58 AM

Could the following sentences be used in a formal letter? Would the two of them be right? If so, when would you use number 1 and when number 2?

1. I look forward to meeting you.
2. I am looking forward to meeting you.

maj

Joined on Mon, Mar 31 2003

Senior Member (4,756)

Numbers, Formal Letter, Formal Letters

Mike in Japan

#8755 Mon, 22 Sep 03 10:09 AM

My canary has circles under his eyes.

Mike in Japan

Joined on Tue, Aug 19 2003

Hazzard County, Japan

Rank NA (4,353)

I do like to be beside the seaside

Pemmican

#8821 Mon, 22 Sep 03 09:27 PM

The actual problem in this case is, that "to" is a preposition here and NOT part of the infinitive! Therefore the Gerund is required.

After verb+preposition, only the Gerund can be used:
I'm fond of doing sports. I'm looking forward to seeing you.

After some verbs, there's only the infinitive with to that can be used:
I wanted to see you.
-> Here, "to" is part of the infinitive and no preposition.
("I wanted seeing you" is not possible.)

And after a few verbs, either a preposition or an infinitive is possible;
In some cases, the meaning doesn't change, while in others it does change:
a) I started to walk -or- I started walking. (same meaning)
b) I stopped to smoke cigarettes -/- I stopped smoking cigarettes. (different meaning)
-> There is already another thread about this change in meaning.

Pemmican

Joined on Thu, Aug 21 2003

Westphalia, Germany

Regular Member (569)

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Verbs, Prepositions, Gerunds

Anonymous

#238099 Tue, 20 Jun 06 10:51 AM

Meeting small guy

Anonymous

#255480 Sun, 13 Aug 06 03:22 PM

Sheerinshaikh wrote:
pls tell me which is correct sentence

IAM LOOKING FORWARD TO MEET YOU

OR

IAM LOOKING FORWARD TO MEETING YOU.

& why please?

pls reply me soon.

thanks.

Anonymous

Clive

#255491 Sun, 13 Aug 06 04:18 PM

Hi,

pls tell me which is correct sentence

IAM LOOKING FORWARD TO MEET YOU

OR

IAM LOOKING FORWARD TO MEETING YOU.

Only #2 is correct. The phrasal verb 'look forward to' must be followed by a noun or, as in this case, a gerund, which is a noun equivalent.

Best wishes, Clive