It happened again yesterday. And the day before that.
I’m sure you’ve seen it.
Maybe you’ve even done it, sweet Buffi?
What, you may say?
This.
I received a lovely mail in English from a new client, and then….at the end….it says ‘I look forward to meet you!’
Honey, please don’t do this anymore. Let me tell you why.
We have something super sexy in English and it’s called ‘a prepositional object’. Sexy talk, right? To cut to the chase, this means that after a preposition, you use the verb + ing. Here are some examples:
I’m fascinated BY watchING the stars at night.
I’m frightened OF goING out alone in the evening.
He’s interested IN learnING Portuguese.
She’s curious ABOUT seeING that new movie.
So, based on the above, what should be the right way to end that gorgeous email you wrote?
I’m looking forward to meeting you!
Yes! Confetti cannon all over the place, darling Buffi! That’s absolutely correct!
You can end your mail with ‘I look forward to’ (which is slightly more formal in style) or ‘I’m looking forward to’ (which is a bit more informal) but BOTH of them need to have the verb + ing afterwards!
I hope this helps you rock your emails!
If you’d like more eye-openers about writing (6 more tips!), presentations (4 concrete tips you can apply today!), pronunciation (3 tweaks that have a big impact!), grammar (4 big mistakes you don’t want to make), or vocabulary (triple it!), join my FREE DETOX JE STEENKOLEN ENGELS video course which starts next Monday! You’ll get an exclusive video Masterclass and a nifty worksheet from 16-20 January. I’d love it if you joined me!
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See you zoen!
Love, buffi x
