Normally, 'I want to do something', 'nice to meet you', that the verb always be its normal status. But why 'look forward to doing'?For example, I am looking forward to seeing all of the great ideas that you come up with.
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2Because we "look forward to <noun>"—and the progressive form of the verb becomes the gerund in those constructions, a type of noun phrase.– RobustoSep 4, 2015 at 19:47
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What is the connection between "I want to do," "nice to meet you," and "look forward to" that makes you want to using the verb's "normal status" (do you mean the present?)?– Azor Ahai -him-Sep 4, 2015 at 20:05
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5 Answers
The key to understanding this usage is the preposition “to” which comes after the expression “look forward:”
Look forward to something means to be pleased or excited that it is going to happen. The ‘to’ in look forward to is a preposition, so we must follow it by a noun phrase or a verb in the -ing form:
I’m looking forward to the holidays.
A: Are you excited about your trip to South America?
B: Yes, I’m looking forward to it.
We’re looking forward to going to Switzerland next month.
If the second verb has a different subject, we use the object form of the pronoun, not the subject form:
- We’re looking forward to him arriving next week.
Not: We’re looking forward to he arriving next week.
(Cambridge Dictionary)
answered Oct 19, 2018 at 19:39
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+1 I think you need to be more explicit about the fact that it's not an infinitival to there. Oct 19, 2018 at 23:35
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"look forward to" takes a noun. "drink" is a verb. So we take gerund "drinking", which acts as a noun.
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1That doesn't explain why it's an -ing form. Why isn't it "looking forward to drink" just like "hoping to drink", for example? Oct 19, 2018 at 23:35
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@Araucaria you make a good point, that is also grammatical and a perfectly reasonable thing to say after a long day. It's just not idiomatic.– BenOct 20, 2018 at 0:11
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@Ben Well, it's not grammatical unless drink is a noun instead of a verb (consider: I was looking forward to eat). The reason is, that in look forward to, the word to is a preposition, not part of to-infinitive. This is what Userbignumber alludes to below/above. Oct 20, 2018 at 0:24
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Yes, in that sentence "drink" would be a noun. One can look forward to nouns.– BenOct 20, 2018 at 10:58
We look forward to [noun phrase] or equivalent, e.g.
I always look forward to the weekend.
In your examples, the -ing word is a gerund. A verb form that can be used in place of a noun.
A gerund is a noun made from a verb by adding "-ing." The gerund form of the verb "read" is "reading." You can use a gerund as the subject, the complement, or the object of a sentence.
answered Sep 4, 2015 at 19:47
It's the connotation.
Any of these are perfectly fine grammatically:
- I was looking forward to drink at the new pub, but it was closed.
- I was looking forward to drinking at the new pub, but it was closed.
or
- I was looking forward to a drink at the new pub, but it was closed.
- I was looking forward to having a drink at the new pub, but it was closed.
The difference is the connotation. The first one emphasises the drink itself, so has a connotation that the drink would somehow be a different drink. In fact what would be different would likely be the company, or the atmosphere. The specific beer type would probably be available in other places.
All the others de-emphasise the drink and focus on the act of drinking as something done probably in company.
"I was looking forward to drink at the new pub, but it was closed" is wrong. It should be "I was looking forward to the drink at the new pub, but it was closed". We must use a noun.
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Yes, thank you. That's even better, but "to drink" is like "to see" or .... makes it a verb. I was referring to the first sentence from Ben. If we want to note a specific drink, it can be "looking forward to the drink" but not "looking forward to drink" :) Aug 14, 2022 at 2:57