The verb 'look' alone means to use your eyes — direct your sight at something. 'Look at the picture.' 'Look at me.' But when 'look' combines with a particle, it makes phrasal verbs with very different meanings. 'Look up' (search for information / improve). 'Look after' (care for). 'Look for' (search). 'Look forward to' (anticipate eagerly). 'Look down on' (consider inferior). 'Look out' (be careful). 'Look into' (investigate). 'Look up to' (admire and respect). Each is its own fixed expression with its own meaning. Many are idiomatic — the meaning cannot be guessed from 'look' plus the particle. 'Look after' has nothing to do with looking behind someone — it means to care for. 'Look forward to' uses 'forward' for the future direction of anticipation. Students who know 'look' alone cannot understand or use these phrasal verbs without explicit teaching. This lesson covers the most useful look phrasal verbs at B1 level. Sixth in the verb-root series after get, put, take, come/go, and relationship-themed.
Before you start — think honestly about your own teaching and experience.
Look at the examples. Answer each question before reading the explanation — this is how your students will learn too.
I looked up the word in the dictionary.
She looks after her elderly mother.
I am looking for my keys — have you seen them?
I am looking forward to the holiday next month.
The arrogant man looks down on people who have less money.
Look out — there is a car coming!
The police are looking into the crime.
The young students look up to their teacher.
What does 'look' mean in each sentence? Can you guess the meanings?
'Look' alone means use your eyes. But in each sentence here, look combines with a particle to make a different meaning. 'Look up' has at least two meanings — search for information (in a dictionary) and improve (things are looking up). 'Look after' means to care for — like babysitting or caring for an elderly person. 'Look for' means to search — try to find something missing. 'Look forward to' means to anticipate eagerly — be excited about something coming. 'Look down on' means to consider inferior — feel superior to others. 'Look out' is a warning — be careful. 'Look into' means to investigate — examine carefully. 'Look up to' means to admire and respect — see someone as a positive role model. Some of these (look at, look out for safety) are close to the literal meaning of look. Others (look after, look forward to, look up to) are idiomatic. Students need to learn each as its own fixed expression.
look after (= care for, take responsibility for)
My grandmother looks after the children while my mother works.
look forward to (= anticipate eagerly)
I look forward to seeing you next week.
Note: 'look forward to' takes -ing (or noun), NOT to + verb!
look down on (= consider inferior, feel superior to)
It is wrong to look down on people who have less education.
look up to (= admire and respect)
I look up to my older brother — he is a good role model.
These meanings are not predictable. Why are they particularly important?
These idiomatic look phrasal verbs cannot be guessed. 'Look after' has nothing to do with going after someone — it means caring for. 'Look forward to' uses 'forward' for future direction. 'Look down on' uses 'down' for considering inferior — like looking down at someone from above. 'Look up to' uses 'up' for admiration — like looking up at someone above. The 'down' and 'up' particles create opposite meanings (despise vs admire). Students who try to translate these word by word will produce wrong meanings. The only way to learn them is as fixed chunks. They are very common in everyday English. 'Look after' for caring contexts. 'Look forward to' for anticipation. 'Look down on' and 'look up to' for social hierarchy and admiration. Mastering 6 to 8 useful look phrasal verbs is high-value work at B1.
WRONG: I look forward to see you. (very common error)
RIGHT: I look forward to seeing you. (with -ing)
WHY:
In 'look forward to', the 'to' is a preposition, NOT part of an infinitive.
Prepositions take -ing (gerund), not base verbs.
So: look forward to + -ing OR + noun.
More examples:
I look forward to your reply. (noun)
I look forward to hearing from you. (-ing)
I am looking forward to the holiday. (noun)
I am looking forward to going to the beach. (-ing)
Why is this grammar so common in errors?
'Look forward to' is one of the most error-heavy phrases in English. The error happens because students see 'to' and assume it is the start of an infinitive (to + base verb). But here, 'to' is a preposition — it is part of the phrasal verb 'look forward to'. Prepositions take -ing forms (gerunds), not base verbs. Compare: 'I want to see you' (to is infinitive) vs 'I look forward to seeing you' (to is preposition). The same pattern applies to other phrasal verbs ending in 'to': 'object to', 'used to' (for habit, NOT past habit), 'admit to', 'confess to'. All take -ing. The test: try replacing the verb with a noun. 'I look forward to the holiday' (noun). 'I look forward to seeing you' (-ing — works). 'I look forward to see you' (base verb — wrong because base verb cannot fit the noun position). Drilling 'look forward to + -ing' fixes this common error.
| Phrasal verb | Meaning | Example | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| look at | Direct sight at — literal | Look at the picture. | Most literal use of look. |
| look up | Search for information / improve | I looked up the word. / Things are looking up. | Two meanings — search and improve. |
| look after | Care for, take responsibility for | She looks after her mother. | Idiomatic — about caring. |
| look for | Search for, try to find | I am looking for my keys. | Common search verb. |
| look forward to | Anticipate eagerly | I look forward to seeing you. | Takes -ing or noun (NOT base verb). |
| look down on | Consider inferior, feel superior | Do not look down on people. | Idiomatic — about social hierarchy. |
| look up to | Admire and respect | I look up to my teacher. | Opposite of look down on. |
| look out | Be careful, watch out | Look out — there is a car! | Warning. Sometimes 'look out for'. |
| look into | Investigate, examine | The police are looking into the case. | For investigations, formal. |
| look out for | Watch carefully for | Look out for a tall man with a hat. | For something specific to find. |
NOTE 1 — Each look phrasal verb is its own item: Do not teach them as 'look' + a choice of particle. Each combination has its own meaning. Look up (search) and look up to (admire) are completely different. Look down (literal — direct sight downward) and look down on (consider inferior) are different. Students must learn each as its own chunk.
NOTE 2 — Look forward to grammar: Always look forward to + -ing or + noun. NEVER look forward to + base verb. 'I look forward to seeing you' (right). 'I look forward to see you' (wrong). The 'to' is a preposition. Drill this pattern.
NOTE 3 — Up vs down for hierarchy: Look up to (admire) and look down on (despise) use opposite particles for opposite meanings. The visual metaphor — looking up is admiring, looking down is feeling superior. Easy to remember once seen.
NOTE 4 — Look up has two meanings: 'Look up the word' (search for information). 'Things are looking up' (improving). Context tells which. Both are common.
NOTE 5 — Look after = care for: Common in family contexts. Look after children. Look after parents. Look after a sick relative. Different from 'look for' (search) — students often confuse them.
Look phrasal verbs are essential for everyday English. They cover many useful situations — searching for information, caring for others, anticipating future events, social attitudes, investigations. A student who masters 6 to 8 look phrasal verbs gains significant fluency. The 'look forward to + -ing' grammar is particularly important — drilling this pattern prevents one of the most common B1 errors. Connects to other phrasal verb lessons (get, put, take, come/go) — sixth in the verb-root series.
Create a look phrasal verb map with 'look' in the centre and the particles around it: at, up, after, for, forward to, down on, up to, out, into. For each particle, write a short meaning and an example sentence. Refer to the map regularly. The visual layout shows that look is a family of expressions, not a single verb.
Choose the correct look phrasal verb for each sentence.
Each sentence has a problem with a look phrasal verb. Suggest a better version and explain.
Use this sequence directly in class — guided discovery, no textbook needed. Tap each step to mark it done.
STEP 1 — Look alone vs look with particles (4 min): Write 'look' on the board. Ask students what look alone means (use eyes, direct sight). Then add particles: look up, look after, look for, look forward to, look down on, look up to. Show that each combination has its own meaning, often very different from look alone.
STEP 2 — The literal ones (5 min): Drill the more literal look phrasal verbs first: look at (direct sight), look out (warning — be careful), look out for (watch for something specific). These are close to the literal meaning of look. Have students produce sentences using each.
STEP 3 — Search and investigate (6 min): Drill look up (search information), look for (search for something missing), look into (investigate). Show the differences — look up the word in a dictionary; look for keys that are lost; look into a crime. Each is for a different kind of searching.
STEP 4 — Idiomatic phrasal verbs (8 min): Focus on the idiomatic look phrasal verbs: look after (care for), look forward to (anticipate), look down on (despise), look up to (admire). Give clear examples of each. Drill the meanings until students recognise them automatically.
STEP 5 — The look forward to grammar (7 min): Spend focused time on this important pattern. Look forward to + -ing or + noun. NEVER look forward to + base verb. Drill: 'I look forward to seeing you', 'I look forward to your reply', 'I am looking forward to going to the beach'. Practise five examples until automatic.
Use directly in class — copy, adapt, or read aloud. No printing needed.
For each strategy, choose the option that best describes where you are now.
Your feedback helps other teachers and helps us improve TeachAnyClass.