Two headline errors

Two errors in AsiaOne's headlines caught my attention. Both relate to subject-verb agreement and appear one after another:

AsiaOne - 10 September 2012

The verb drop should have been drops, since the head noun Number refers to a specific number, such as 12,500, which is singular.

The second error is the verb continues. The head noun Efforts is plural and takes the plural continue.

Incidentally, the online ChannelNewsAsia also ran the story on the falling number of new citizens, but with the correct singular verb drops:

ChannelNewsAsia - 10 September 2012

Look forward to

Why is the bare form of the verb hear unacceptable in the sentence below?

(1) *I look forward to hear from you.

This student was confused by the grammar rule that requires the infinitive after the word to, such as in the following sentences:

(2) They decided to stay for another day.
(3) We hope to make the trip next month.

The to in sentences (2) and (3) is used before a verb to show that it is the infinitive. It is not a preposition.

The to in look forward to, on the other hand, is a preposition. This makes look forward to a phrasal verb.

As with most phrasal verbs, what follows the preposition is a gerund, not the infinitive:

(4) I look forward to hearing from you.
(5) He was accused of stealing her money.
(6) They insist on giving us a lift.