look forward to — feel pleased about a future event
phrasal verbB1IELTS 5+neutralcore
To feel happy and excited because something good is going to happen.
Say it like a native
Textbook I anticipate the forthcoming event with considerable enthusiasm.
Native I'm really looking forward to it.
'Look forward to' is the natural way to express happy anticipation; 'anticipate with considerable enthusiasm' is stiff.
Pattern: look forward to + noun/gerund
In use
- I'm really looking forward to the concert next week.daily life
- I look forward to meeting new people when I start university.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ I look forward to meet you.
✓ I look forward to meeting you.
Here 'to' is a preposition, so it's followed by -ing: 'look forward to meeting/seeing/hearing'.
Common collocations
look forward to + -ing/noun— to seeing you, to the weekend, to it, to hearing from you
Don't confuse it
Not the same as 'expect', which is more neutral and less about positive feelings.