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Expressing Anticipation: Can You Say “Looking Forward”?

“Looking forward” is natural when the context supplies what you anticipate. Use “look forward to” with a noun, pronoun, or -ing verb—not an infinitive.

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Yes. “Looking forward” expresses anticipation when the context makes clear what you’re anticipating. For a complete, natural phrase, use look forward to followed by a noun or an -ing verb: “I’m looking forward to the holidays” or “I’m looking forward to meeting you.”

What does “look forward to” mean?

It means to feel pleased or excited about something expected to happen, or to think about a future event with pleasure. For example, “I’m looking forward to our meeting” makes the anticipated event explicit.

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What follows “looking forward to”?

Use a noun phrase, a pronoun, or a verb ending in -ing. Cambridge English Grammar Today explains that the “to” in “look forward to” is a preposition, not the marker of an infinitive.

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  • Noun phrase: “I’m looking forward to the holidays.”
  • Pronoun: “I’m looking forward to it.”
  • -ing verb: “I’m looking forward to going” or “I’m looking forward to meeting you.”

That is why the correct form is “I look forward to hearing from you,” not “I look forward to hear from you.”

Can you use it in an email?

Yes. “I look forward to hearing from you” and “I look forward to your reply” are established formal email and letter closings that express the expectation or hope of a response. Choose the version that fits what you are waiting for: an answer, a reply, or another next step.

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Can you say “Looking forward!” by itself?

In conversation, “Looking forward!” or “Looking forward to!” may work when the event or object is already clear from the exchange. On its own, though, the phrase leaves the anticipated thing unstated. Naming it—“Looking forward to the trip” or “I’m looking forward to seeing you”—is clearer and follows the full construction shown in Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries.

Does “looking forward” ever mean something else?

It can introduce discussion of what lies ahead, rather than express personal excitement. The OECD Style Guide uses the example “The team is looking forward to the next project phase,” where the phrase describes anticipation of a future phase. The surrounding sentence determines the precise emphasis.

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