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Why the below one is correct?

I look forward to meeting you.

And why this one is wrong?

I look forward to meet you.

I generally do these mistakes in letter writing.

Jasper
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dexterous
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  • It's similar to "look over at someone"; you "look forward to something". That's why you need a gerund, i.e. the *-ing* form, not an infinitive (basic form of the verb). – Damkerng T. May 01 '15 at 11:11
  • See also: [look forward to meet you, or to meeting you?](http://ell.stackexchange.com/q/28856/3281) – Damkerng T. May 01 '15 at 11:15
  • You say "I'm happy to meet you", you would never say "I look forward to meet you." – Catija May 02 '15 at 22:47
  • @Catija For the same reason you'd say "I look forward to the movie" but not "I'm happy to the movie" :-) –  May 03 '15 at 02:09
  • See also: [To + verb + '-ing' usage question](http://ell.stackexchange.com/questions/56296/to-verb-ing-usage-question) – Damkerng T. May 08 '15 at 05:22

1 Answers1

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That's because the string look forward to is generally followed by 'verb-ing'.

I look forward to meeting you
I look forward to reading this book
I look forward to making your acquaintance
I look forward to speaking with him.

Check out the examples on COCA. Most of them follow this format. This is because in such structure, 'to' serves as a preposition and not the infinitive marker [Thanks Snailboat].

This is how it is -I just learned it that way! :)

Maulik V
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    Right, because this *to* is the preposition, not the infinitive marker. *Look forward to* can also be followed by a regular noun phrase; search COCA for *looking forward to the* for some examples. –  May 01 '15 at 07:21
  • Hey, nice seeing you after long time @snailboat tip included! :) – Maulik V May 01 '15 at 07:29