Is it “I’m looking forward to hear from you” or “I am looking forward to hearing from you”? Which is correct?

Vocabulary / By

“I am looking forward to hearing from you” is correct. In this case “to” is a preposition, and you always need to use the ing form(gerund) after a preposition. “I am looking forward to hear from you” is incorrect.

We usually use “I am looking forward to hearing from you” and the end of an email or letter as a sign-off when we hope to receive a response from someone. 

Look or looking forward to hearing from you?

You can use either “I look forward to hearing from you” or  “I am looking forward to hearing from you”. Both are correct. 

“I look forward to hearing from you”  is slightly more formal than  “I am looking forward to hearing from you” but nowadays both are used in business emails. 

How do you say looking forward to hearing from you professionally

There is nothing unprofessional about the phrase  “I am looking forward to hearing from you”. It is perfectly acceptable to use in a business email but to sound slightly more formal you can use “I look forward to hearing from you”.

If you want an alternative that also sounds professional you can use:

  • I await your response.
  • Keep me informed on what you plan to do next.
  • I would appreciate a quick response. 

Why is it “hearing” and not “hear?

Here is an explanation of why “I am looking forward to hearing from you” is correct.

“To look forward to” is a phrasal verb 

To look forward to something is a multi-word phrasal verb.

A phrasal verb contains a verb and a preposition and in this case, two prepositions(forward and to)

I am looking forward to spending the summer by the beach.

To look forward to is a transitive verb which means that it needs an object( a noun or a pronoun). 

Other examples of transitive verbs are like and enjoy. You can’t say “I like” without an object.

I like football. 

I enjoy swimming in the sea.

Gerund after a preposition

There is a rule in English that says that if you use a verb after a preposition, then the verb needs to be in the ing form(gerund).

Thank you for buying me breakfast.

He always dreamed of going west.  

After hearing the doctor, I went home.

“Look forward to” is a phrasal verb, so “to” is a preposition in this case. Remember that “look forward to” is always together and a set phrase.

More phrasal verb examples(Notice the ing form after the phrasal verb)

He started out cleaning the toilets.

John ended up renting an apartment next to me.

That criminal will pay for being so bad.

Different uses of to

The confusion between the difference between “I’m looking forward to hear you” and “I am looking forward to hearing you” is because of the word “to”

After many verbs, it is necessary to use the infinitive(to + verb) or the gerund form(ing) of the verb for the second verb.

As explained above “to look forward to” is always together. It can’t be separated.

Examples of infinitives

I want to go to the supermarket

I tried to open the bottle.

Examples of gerunds

He likes swimming in the sea.

He enjoys dancing by himself.

“To look forward to” is an example of a verb that takes a gerund.

I am looking forward to dancing all night long.

I am looking forward to taking off my shoes.

I am looking forward to playing my guitar later.

I am looking forward to meeting your family.

In Summary

You can use either “I am looking forward to hearing from you” or “I look forward to hearing from you”. The important point is that you should use “hearing” because the verb follows “to look forward to”.

Conor
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