The Grammar Doctor

meet or meeting?

Q. In my application for a job, I wrote the following sentence and was told by the potential employer that it was incorrect. "I look forward to meet you for further discussions." I was told that it should be written as, "I look forward to meeting you for further discussions."

I believe it should be written as "...to meet you" rather than "...to meeting you"; just as one would say: "I look forward to hear from you, soon" rather than "I look forward to hearing from you, soon".

A. The employer is right on this. It should be, "I look forward to meeting you" and "I look forward to hearing from you."

"To" in these sentences is a preposition. The object of the preposition must be a noun or a noun substitute. "Meeting" is a present participle, which can function as a noun subsitute. "Meet" is a verb and cannot function as an object of a prepositon.

Back to The Grammar Doctor Answers Your Question