Looking forward to something means to be excited about something. We use this to talk about something we are excited about in the future. It has not happened yet, but we are waiting for it eagerly.

Subject + be verb + looking forward to + noun/gerund…

• I am looking forward to the weekend.
• I am looking forward to my vacation.
• I am looking forward to meeting you.
• She is looking forward to her wedding.
• He is looking forward to working with you.
• Mark is looking forward to meeting his new boss.
• Mary and Tim are looking forward to moving into their new house.
• They are looking forward to hearing your presentation.

We can also make past tense sentences to tell about something we were excited about, but that never happened. It shows disappointment.

• I was looking forward to seeing the movie, but I couldn't go because I was sick.
• I was looking forward to working with him, but he decided to quit.
• She was looking forward to meeting you. She will be disappointed you are not coming.
• It's too bad the game is canceled. We were looking forward to watching.

This kind of sentence is very common when speaking, but it is also very common when writing personal and business emails. It makes the other person feel liked, respected, and appreciated.

• I am looking forward to meeting you.
• We are looking forward to having further discussions.
• Our team is looking forward to working with you on this project.
• I am looking forward to hearing from you.

We can make the same sentence pattern not in the continuous form (no "be verb"). This is more common in writing and formal situations.

Subject + look forward to + noun/gerund…

• I look forward to meeting you next week.
• We look forward to hearing your proposal.
• Our team looks forward to the meeting.
• Our CEO looks forward to discussing the project with you.

Bonus Tips and Points

1. In many cases, we can use "excited about" to express the same thing.

• I am looking forward to the game.
  (=I am excited about the game.)


• We are looking forward to meeting your new girlfriend.
  (=We are excited about meeting your new girlfriend.)

However, in business or professional situations, we do not want to say "excited". "Looking forward to" sounds much better and more professional.

• I am looking forward to our meeting.
• She is looking forward to the conference.
• We are looking forward to working with you
.

Real-World English Conversations

A) I will see you next week.
B) I am already looking forward to it.

A) Do you have any plans this weekend?
B) I am going to see my son. He just got back from Europe.
A) You must be looking forward to that.
B) I am.

A) I am looking forward to seeing that horror movie.
B) I think you might be disappointed. Don't get your hopes up.

A) Are you looking forward to the conference?
B) Not really. The conference is usually boring.

A) We are going to the beach this weekend.
B) I bet your kids are looking forward to that.
A) Yes. They are so excited.

A) What are you looking forward to these days?
B) I'm looking forward to my next vacation.
A) When is it and where are you going?
B) It is not for another 3 months. I am going to Scotland to golf with my friends.
A) That sounds like a lot of fun.

Study these free English lessons to improve your English speaking. If you learn these common sentence patterns well, then your English speaking will improve greatly and you will be able to have fluent conversations in English in the near future! Study the lessons well, practice using the sentences and questions at home and in real life, and make sure to come back to review the material so you do not forget. If you do these three things, then you will be speaking English like a native English speaker in no time!