Pretty much that's the question. I wanna think that I have heard it used many times ("I've been looking to do that for the longest time"), but now I'm not sure. Thanks!
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Related: english.stackexchange.com/q/51022/14666– KrisCommented Dec 15, 2013 at 13:34
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It's idiomatic, not an idiom yet. dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/look_6– KrisCommented Dec 15, 2013 at 13:36
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2Depends which idiom dictionary you choose – this from the Sterling Dictionary of Idioms: looking to do something: [seeking the opportunity to do something – I don't like Kumar's definition]– Edwin AshworthCommented Dec 15, 2013 at 16:07
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4It's a simple matter of a particular sense of a verb gaining the complement pattern of its synonyms. This sense of look means 'look forward/intend/plan', and like these predicates, it takes an infinitive complement. E.g, He's looking/intending/planning to mow the lawn. Look forward, of course, has a connotation of pleasant expectancy, and takes a prepositional phrase (with a gerund) instead of an infinitive: He's looking forward to mowing the lawn.– John LawlerCommented Dec 15, 2013 at 18:04
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1Good God, I LOVE this website! Thank you so much, Kris, Edwin, and John. This is certainly one of the best places online to find information about the language. Thanks again, everybody!– EvelynCommented Dec 15, 2013 at 20:12
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1 Answer
As John Lawler notes in the comments:
It's a simple matter of a particular sense of a verb gaining the complement pattern of its synonyms. This sense of look means 'look forward/intend/plan', and like these predicates, it takes an infinitive complement. E.g, He's looking/intending/planning to mow the lawn. Look forward, of course, has a connotation of pleasant expectancy, and takes a prepositional phrase (with a gerund) instead of an infinitive: He's looking forward to mowing the lawn.
