to doing

[Mike12345]

Teachers, as I know, the word "to" is always followed by a basic verb. For example, My teacher asked me to clean the classroom yesterday. But why is the word "to" followed by a gerund in the sentence " I am looking forward to seeing you again." Thank you

 

[Skrej]

In this sentence, 'to' is part of the phrasal verb 'look forward to' , and is followed by some kind of noun object. 'Seeing' as a gerund fills the role of a noun object in this sentence.

Your example of 'to + basic verb' is called an infinitive. Certain verbs (such as 'ask') require an infinitive as you mention.

 

[GoesStation]

Teachers, as I know, the word "to" is always followed by a basic verb.

That is not correct.

 

[bubbha]

Teachers, as I know, the word "to" is always followed by a basic verb.

By the way, "as I know" is a common error made by Chinese speakers when attempting to translate the Chinese phrase 據我所知 ("according to what I know"). In English, we don't say "as I know" in this context. Better translations include "I understand that", "as far as I know", and "to my knowledge".

 

[GoesStation]

Teachers, as I know, the word "to" is always followed by a basic verb.

By the way, "as I know" is a common error made by Chinese speakers when attempting to translate the Chinese phrase 據我所知 ("according to what I know"). In English, we don't say "as I know" in this context. Better translations include "I understand that", "as far as I know", and "to my knowledge".

Google Translate offers "as far as I know", which would work well in the quoted sentence.

Mike12345, "as I know" is not a complete expression. It needs the first two words cited above.