Hello everybody, and welcome to Your English Fix, where we help you fix your English mistakes and improve your overall English ability.

This is our first official grammar post, and we are really excited to share some English tips with you all.

​Today’s tip comes from our many years of experience teaching English conversation classes. It is something that is specific to Korean speakers as it is a direct translation issue, but it may apply to students of other East Asian languages as well.

​Direct translation is when you look up a word in your native language and assume that the translation in your target language is used in the same way. It’s a very common mistake, but can lead to a lot of confusion and misunderstanding.

​The most common example that we come across in the classroom is the word ‘expect’. This is the direct translation of the Korean 기다리다, which can be used to mean either ‘wait’, ‘hold on’, ‘expect’, or ‘look forward to’.

When a student is talking about an event or plan in the future that they are really excited about, they will often say that they “expect” it.

​Ex. I really expect your class this Friday.

​We are expecting your birthday party.

​I’m expecting to see my friends this weekend.

​The problem is that ‘expect’ is not used this way in English, so it does not fit the context of these examples. ‘Expect’ means to believe that something will happen.

It does not mean that you are excited or happy about it. It is simply stating the fact that you think it will happen. It could be something good or something bad.

​Ex. I expect to do poorly on my final exam. (I believe I will do poorly, probably because I didn’t study.)

​We are expecting a big crowd at the event. (We think there will be a big crowd, which may be good, but we don’t really know from the context alone.)

​I’m expecting to get first place in the race. (I believe I will get first place, which is a good thing, but even here, ‘expect’ does not have that meaning. It’s simply stating my belief.)

​If you want to say that you are excited or happy about an event or plan in the future, the appropriate word choice would be ‘look forward to’.

Let’s look at the examples we mentioned earlier.

​Ex.I really expect your class this Friday.

I really look forward to your class this Friday.

​

We are expecting your birthday party.

We are looking forward to your birthday party.

​

I’m expecting to see my friends this weekend.

I’m looking forward to seeing my friends this weekend.

​

Note: The last example is grammatically correct using ‘expect’, but the overall meaning is different. Using ‘expect’ just means I think there’s a good chance I will see my friends this weekend. I still might not want to see them though. Using ‘look forward to’ definitely means I am excited because I will see my friends.

​The expression ‘look forward to’ is so common in English (which is why it is so noticeable when it is NOT used), so it’s something you should really get used to using.

​Here are a few more examples of when you can use it in everyday conversation.

​A: Are you coming to the party this weekend?

B: Yeah, I’m really looking forward to it.

​

A: Only 2 more weeks until my vacation.

B: That’s exciting. You must be looking forward to it.

​

A: Ugh, I’m not looking forward to going back to work on Monday.

B: Me neither. Let’s not think about it.

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We hope this helps to clear up any confusion about when to use ‘expect’ and ‘look forward to’ in a sentence.

If you have any questions though, please let us know in the comments. We are more than happy to help and we look forward to hearing from you. 😉

​We will try to post new content for you every week, so come back soon for more tips!