SSC CGL 2025 Tier-I · 13 September 2025, Shift 2 · English Comprehension · Question 20 of 100

We transcribed this text from the pictures on a candidate's response sheet for this shift; the answer is the key SSC colour-marked on that sheet. Solution last reviewed 13 September 2026.

Where this paper and its answers come from

SSC does not publish CGL question papers or a public answer key. From 2025 the candidate response sheet prints every question and option as a picture, so the text here is transcribed from those pictures for this shift and checked against them independently; where the layout carries meaning, the picture is shown as well. Each answer is the key SSC colour-marked on that sheet. SSC released a tentative key for challenge and later its final one, both only to candidates behind a login, and the sheet does not say which of the two it carries. The solutions are written by UnlockIAS.

Choose the most suitable option to replace the highlighted part of the sentence: He is looking forward to meet you soon.

(a)to meeting you soon
(b)for meeting you
(c)meeting you
(d)to have met you

Answer

Why

Correct — A. In look forward to, 'to' is a preposition, not part of an infinitive. Test it with a noun: 'looking forward to the weekend' works.

A preposition takes a noun or a gerund (the -ing form) as its object, so 'to meet' must become 'to meeting'.

Option (a) makes only that change and keeps 'soon': 'He is looking forward to meeting you soon.'

Why the others are wrong

(b)
for meeting you — The phrasal verb is look forward to, and its preposition is fixed. 'Looking forward for meeting you' is not idiomatic, and it drops 'soon'.
(c)
meeting you — Drops the to that 'look forward' needs: 'He is looking forward meeting you' is ungrammatical, and 'soon' is lost too.
(d)
to have met you — Keeps the infinitive error, now as a perfect infinitive. After the preposition 'to' a gerund is needed, and 'have met' looks back while 'looking forward' looks ahead.

Concept

'To' has two jobs. Before a base verb it marks the infinitive: want to meet, hope to meet.

After certain verbs, adjectives and phrases it is a preposition, and a preposition takes a noun or a gerund: look forward to meeting, object to waiting, be used to working, with a view to settling.

The noun test separates the two. If a noun fits after 'to' (look forward to the trip), the 'to' is a preposition, and a verb there takes -ing.

The highlighted part is 'to meet you soon', so a replacement that drops soon changes the sentence. Of the four options, only (a) keeps it.

Key facts

Look forward to takes a gerund: 'I look forward to hearing from you.'
'To' is a preposition when a noun can replace the verb after it: 'look forward to the trip'.
Object to, be used to (accustomed) and with a view to also take -ing.

Study next

Preposition 'to' + gerund: object to, be used to, with a view toVerbs that take a gerund object: avoid, enjoy, finishAdjective + preposition + gerund: confident of, capable of, fond of

Common traps

Reading 'to' as an infinitive marker by reflex and keeping 'to meet'.
Picking (c) because 'meeting' is the right form — without 'to' the phrasal verb breaks.

A preposition-plus-gerund repair is also at 14 Sep 2025, 16:00, English Q.20: 'I am confident to pass the examination' is keyed 'of passing the examination'.

A related infinitive-for-gerund swap is at 15 Sep 2025, 12:30, English Q.17: 'She avoids to go' becomes 'avoids going', because avoid takes a gerund object.

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.

Topic: Sentence improvement — all 133 SSC CGL questions on it, every solved shift.