JHi, I’m Jason. Here’s an email line I see all the time: “I’m looking forward to meet you next week.” It looks right. Every word is real, and the idea is clear. But a native speaker would still fix one small thing in it.嗨，我是 Jason。有一句 email 我常常看到：「I’m looking forward to meet you next week.」看起來沒問題，每個字都是真的，意思也很清楚。但母語者還是會改掉其中一個小地方。
MAnd I’m Mary. Yes! It looks right because of a rule we all learned in school. Today we’ll find the small mistake, learn an easy test, and pick up a few useful email lines. Let’s go to a Taipei office on a Tuesday afternoon.我是 Mary。對！它看起來對，是因為我們在學校都學過一條規則。今天我們要找出這個小錯誤，學一個簡單的小測試，還有幾句好用的 email 句子。我們先到台北的辦公室，時間是週二下午。
JAmy is at her desk. She’s writing an email to a client from Canada, and he’s visiting Taiwan next week. She’s a little nervous, so she asks her coworker Daniel, “Can you check my email before I send it?”Amy 坐在她的座位上。她正在寫信給一位加拿大的客戶，對方下週要來台灣。她有點緊張，所以問同事 Daniel：「我寄信前，你可以幫我看一下嗎？」
MDaniel is a foreign coworker, and English is his first language. He says, “Sure. Read me the last line.” And Amy reads, “I’m looking forward to meet you next week.” That’s the line from the start.Daniel 是外國同事，英文是他的母語。他說：「好啊，最後一句念給我聽。」Amy 念出：「I’m looking forward to meet you next week.」就是我們一開始那一句。
JDaniel thinks for a second. Then he says, “Almost. It’s looking forward to meeting you, not meet you.” Only one little thing changes. The word “meet” becomes “meeting,” a verb ending in I-N-G.Daniel 想了一下，然後說：「差一點。要說 looking forward to meeting you，不是 meet you。」只改一個小地方。meet 變成 meeting，也就是字尾加 I-N-G 的動詞。
MAmy is surprised. She says, “Wait, really? I thought to always comes before the base verb. Like, I want to meet you.” A base verb is just the plain verb, with no ending. Like “meet,” “go,” “see.”Amy 很驚訝。她說：「等等，真的嗎？我以為 to 後面都接原形動詞。像 I want to meet you。」base verb 就是原形動詞，沒有任何字尾，像 meet、go、see。
JAnd Amy is right about the school rule. “I want to meet you.” “I need to go.” “I hope to see you.” After those words, the plain verb follows. So why is today different?Amy 說的那條學校規則沒錯。I want to meet you。I need to go。I hope to see you。這些句子裡，to 後面都接原形動詞。那為什麼今天不一樣呢？
MDaniel explains. He says, “Usually, yes. But in looking forward to, the to works like for.” So here, “to” is a preposition. That’s a small word like for, at, or in. And those words take a noun, or a verb ending in I-N-G.Daniel 解釋說：「通常是。可是 looking forward to 的 to 用法像 for。」所以這裡的 to 是介系詞，就是像 for、at、in 這種小字。它們後面要接名詞，或字尾加 I-N-G 的動詞。
JThink about it this way. We say “thank you for coming,” not “thank you for come.” After for, the verb takes the I-N-G form. It’s the same idea with this “to.” It’s a preposition, like for, so the verb changes too.可以這樣想。我們說 thank you for coming，不會說 thank you for come。for 後面的動詞要用 I-N-G 形式。這個 to 也是一樣的道理。它跟 for 一樣是介系詞，所以動詞也要跟著變。
MHere’s a quick test that works most of the time. Can you put “it” right after the “to”? “Look forward to it.” That sounds fine. So it’s the preposition kind, and the verb after it ends in I-N-G.這裡有個大部分時候都管用的小測試。你能不能在 to 後面直接放 it？Look forward to it，聽起來很自然。所以它是介系詞的 to，後面的動詞要加 I-N-G。
JNow try it with the school rule. “Want to it.” That sounds strange, right? So “want to” is the other kind, and it takes the plain verb. “I want to meet you.” Good. And “can’t wait to it”? Also strange.現在用學校那條規則來試試。Want to it，聽起來怪怪的對吧？所以 want to 是另一種，後面接原形動詞。I want to meet you，沒問題。那 can’t wait to it 呢？也很怪。
MThat’s a nice contrast. “I can’t wait to see you.” Plain verb. “I’m looking forward to seeing you.” The I-N-G form. Same feeling, two different patterns. So don’t mix them up.這是個很好的對比。I can’t wait to see you，接原形動詞。I’m looking forward to seeing you，接 I-N-G 形式。意思差不多，但句型不同，所以別搞混。
JBack to the office. Amy says, “Got it. I’m looking forward to meeting you next week. Better?” And Daniel says, “Perfect.” Notice she changed only one word. That’s all it takes.回到辦公室。Amy 說：「懂了。I’m looking forward to meeting you next week. 這樣比較好嗎？」Daniel 說：「完美。」注意，她只改了一個字，這樣就夠了。
MAlso, after that “to,” you can use a noun, not just a verb. “We’re looking forward to your visit.” “I’m looking forward to the weekend.” Same pattern, and a noun doesn’t need any I-N-G at all.另外，那個 to 後面也可以接名詞，不一定要接動詞。We’re looking forward to your visit。I’m looking forward to the weekend。句型一樣，而名詞完全不需要加 I-N-G。
JNow Daniel says something useful. He says, “And for a client email, you can also end with, I look forward to hearing from you.” That’s a very common way to finish a business email.接著 Daniel 說了一句很實用的話。他說：「寫給客戶的信，也可以用 I look forward to hearing from you. 結尾。」這是結束商務 email 很常見的寫法。
MNotice it’s “I look forward,” not “I’m looking forward.” The first one is a bit more formal. It’s good for clients, bosses, and people you don’t know well. The second one is friendlier, for coworkers and friends.注意這裡是 I look forward，不是 I’m looking forward。前者比較正式，適合客戶、主管，還有不太熟的人。後者比較親切，適合同事和朋友。
JAnd yes, it’s the same I-N-G after the “to.” “Hear from you” just means get a reply from you. So the sentence is a polite way to say, “Please write back soon.”沒錯，to 後面一樣要用 I-N-G。hear from you 的意思就是收到你的回覆。所以這句話其實是很有禮貌的「請早點回信」。
MAmy likes that. Then she asks, “And if a friend says see you Saturday, can I just say, I’m looking forward?” It’s a great question, because a lot of learners do exactly this.Amy 很喜歡這句。接著她問：「那如果朋友說週六見，我可以只回 I’m looking forward 嗎？」這個問題很棒，因為很多學習者就是這樣說。
JAnd Daniel says, “Add to it. I’m looking forward to it. Without it, it sounds like you stopped in the middle.” Think about it. “I’m looking forward…” Forward to what? The listener is still waiting.Daniel 說：「後面加 to it：I’m looking forward to it。不加的話，聽起來像話講到一半。」想想看，「I’m looking forward……」期待什麼呢？聽的人還在等你講完。
MSo the short, natural reply is “I’m looking forward to it.” Or, “Me too! I’m looking forward to it.” Easy. Try saying it out loud once. “I’m looking forward to it.” Nice and smooth.所以簡短又自然的回答就是 I’m looking forward to it。或是 Me too! I’m looking forward to it。很簡單。大聲說一次看看：I’m looking forward to it。順順的。
JNow a bonus. The same trap shows up with “be used to.” It also has a preposition “to,” so it takes the I-N-G form. “I’m used to getting up early.” That means getting up early feels normal to me now.來個加碼。be used to 也有同樣的陷阱。它的 to 也是介系詞，所以要接 I-N-G 形式。I’m used to getting up early，意思是現在早起對我來說很平常。
MBut watch out. Take away the “be” and you get “used to,” and the meaning changes. “I used to get up early” means I did it in the past, but not anymore. In that one, the plain verb follows.但要小心。拿掉 be，變成 used to，意思就不一樣了。I used to get up early 是說我以前會早起，但現在不了。這個用法後面接的是原形動詞。
JLet’s put them side by side. “I’m used to getting up early.” It’s normal for me now. “I used to get up early.” I did it before. One little word changes the whole story.我們把兩句放在一起比較。I’m used to getting up early，現在對我來說很正常。I used to get up early，我以前會這樣。一個小字就讓整件事不一樣。
MLet’s check the whole list. One: “looking forward to meeting you.” Two: “looking forward to your visit,” or “to it.” Three: “I look forward to hearing from you” for email. Four: “I can’t wait to see you,” with a plain verb.我們把整份清單核對一次。第一：looking forward to meeting you。第二：looking forward to your visit，或 to it。第三：email 用 I look forward to hearing from you。第四：I can’t wait to see you，接原形動詞。
JAnd here’s a fast way to remember it. Most of the time, if “it” fits after the “to,” add I-N-G to the verb. If “it” doesn’t fit, it’s usually the plain verb. Two seconds, and you can check yourself before you hit send.還有個快速記法。大部分時候，如果 to 後面放得下 it，動詞就加 I-N-G。放不下 it，通常就是接原形動詞。兩秒鐘，你就能在按下寄出前自己檢查。
MIn an email, the last line is the one people remember. So a small mistake there really stands out. That’s why Amy was smart to ask Daniel first. A quick check can save you from a little embarrassment.寫 email 時，最後一句是大家最有印象的。所以那裡有個小錯誤會特別明顯。這就是為什麼 Amy 先請 Daniel 看是很聰明的做法。快速檢查一下，可以少掉一點尷尬。
JHere’s one for you to try. Think about this weekend. Say, “I’m looking forward to,” and finish it with a noun or an I-N-G verb. “I’m looking forward to the weekend.” “I’m looking forward to sleeping in.”這裡有一句讓你試試看。想想這個週末。先說 I’m looking forward to，再接名詞或 I-N-G 動詞。I’m looking forward to the weekend。I’m looking forward to sleeping in。
MGreat examples. So in one breath: plain verb after “want to” and “can’t wait to.” I-N-G or a noun after “look forward to” and “be used to.” And never leave “looking forward” hanging by itself.很好的例子。一口氣整理：want to 和 can’t wait to 後面接原形動詞。look forward to 和 be used to 後面接 I-N-G 或名詞。還有，千萬別讓 looking forward 單獨掛在那裡。
JOkay, we’re almost done. Let’s hear the whole conversation one more time. This time, listen for the little word “meeting,” and for “I’m looking forward to it” near the end.好，我們快結束了。再把整段對話完整聽一遍。這次請注意那個小字 meeting，還有接近結尾的 I’m looking forward to it。
🔁 [DIALOGUE REPLAY] 重播情境對話
MSo the takeaway: in “look forward to,” the “to” is a preposition. Use a noun or the I-N-G form, and say “I’m looking forward to meeting you,” or just “I’m looking forward to it.”所以重點是：look forward to 的 to 是介系詞，後面接名詞或 I-N-G 形式。可以說 I’m looking forward to meeting you，或簡單說 I’m looking forward to it。
JNow tell us in the comments: what are you looking forward to this month? Write one sentence that starts with “I’m looking forward to.” We’ll check it for you. This is MJ English.現在請在留言告訴我們：這個月你期待什麼？寫一句以 I’m looking forward to 開頭的句子，我們會幫你檢查。這裡是 MJ English。
MThanks for listening, everyone.謝謝大家收聽。
