THE FUTURE PERFECT TENSE

Use

1. Actions that will be finished before some point in the future.

Common Time Expressions

Time expressions that are commonly used with the Future Perfect:

• Before
• By tomorrow/7 o'clock/next month
• Until/till

Examples:

• Before they come, we will have cleaned up the house.

• John will have eaten the whole cake, by the time the party starts!

Form

Contracted forms

WILL = 'LL

Example: She'll have finished = she will have finished

WILL + NOT = WON'T

Example: She won't have finished = she will not have finished

Important: The Future Perfect appears in two forms: "will" form and "going to" form which can be
used interchangably.
Example: "She will have finished" means "she is going to have finished"

Positive Sentences
Auxiliary Auxiliary
Subject Verb + ing
verb verb
+ + +e.g.
e.g. I/a dog
will have eaten/given/gone
etc.
etc.

Examples Use

I will have retired by the end of this year. (Use 1)

I read 40 pages a day. If I keep up the pace, I will have read the book by Tuesday. (Use 1)

Questions
Auxiliary + +Auxiliary +
Subject Verb + ing
verb verb
will e.g. I/a dog have e.g.
 eaten/given/gone
etc.
etc.

Examples Use
Will they have graduated from
(Use 1)
Cambridge by July 2009?
Will I have retired by the end of the
(Use 1)
year?
Will you have bought a new processor
(Use 1)
by the end of this week?
Negative Sentences
Auxiliary Auxiliary
Subject Verb + ing
verb + not verb
+ + +e.g.
e.g. I/a dog
will not have eaten/given/gone
etc.
etc.

Examples Use
They won't have graduated from
(Use 1)
from Cambridge by July 2009.
My uncle won't have retired by the
(Use 1)
end of the year.

THE FUTURE PERFECT CONTINUOUS

Use

1. Actions that will be in progress at a definite moment in the future.

USE 1
The only use of this tense is to talk about future actions that will be in progress at some specified
point in the future.

Examples:

• Before they come, we will have been cleaning the house for 5 hours.
• By the next year, Ben and his wife will have been living together for 50 years.

Common Time Expressions

Time expressions that are commonly used with the Future Perfect Perfect:

• By tomorrow / 8 o'clock
• This year / month / week
• Next year / month / week

Form

Contracted forms

WILL = 'LL
Example: She'll have been = she will have been

WILL + NOT = WON'T

Example: She won't have been = she will not have been

Positive Sentences
Auxiliary Auxiliary Auxiliary
Subject Verb + ing
verb verb verb
+ + + +e.g.
e.g. I/a
will have been eating/giving/goin
dog etc.
g etc.

Examples Use
We will have been driving 6 hours by (Use
the time we get home. 1)
In the summer Mike will have been (Use
trying to find a new job for five months. 1)
Jane will be very tired when she comes
(Use
home, because she will have been
1)
flying over 24 hours.
My father and I will have been (Use
breeding sheep for 20 years tomorrow. 1)
By the year 2020, linguists will have
been studying and defining the Indo- (Use
European language family for more than 1)
200 years.
Note

If duration of an activity (e.g. "since April", "for three hours") is unknown then the Future Continuous
should be used instead of the Perfect Form.

Example:

• I will be taking a bath.

• I will have been taking a bath.

Negative Sentences
Auxiliary Auxiliary Auxiliary
Subject Verb + ing
verb verb verb
+ + + +e.g.
e.g. I/a
will have been eating/giving/goin
dog etc.
g etc.
Examples Use
She won't have been writing the
book for four months by the end of (Use 1)
October.

Negative sentences sound rather unnatural. This is probably because the answer to a question like,
"Will she have been teaching for 30 years this year?", would simply be, "No, I don't think so".

Questions
Auxiliary + +Auxiliary +Auxiliary +
Subject Verb + ing
verb verb verb
will e.g. I/a have been e.g.
 eating/giving/goin
dog etc.
g etc.
Examples Use
Will he have been writing the
composition for a month by the end of (Use 1)
February?
Good to know...

Questions beginning with "how long" are more common.

Examples:

o How long will you have been learning German this year?
o How long will you have been trying to get your driving license this week? I hope
you'll finally make it!

THE FUTURE CONTINUOUS

We mainly use the Future Continuous (aka Future Progressive) to indicate that we will be in the
middle of doing something in a specified time in the future. There are also two other uses, listed
below:

Use

1. Future actions in progress.

2. Guesses about the present or the future.
3. Polite questions about somebody's intentions*.

Good to know...

If you want to learn about somebody's intentions, you should always use the Future Continuous
rather than the Present Simple. Using the Future Simple implies that you want to influence
somebody's decision. Questions become much more objective if formed in the Future Continuous:

• Will you come home? (= I want you to come home)

• Will you be coming home? (= I just want to know)

USE 1: Future actions in progress

The first use of the Future Continuous is to express future action in progress.

Examples:

• In an hour, I will be sitting in front of my TV.

• In the evening, I will be baking a birthday cake.

USE 2: Guesses
Use this tense also to make guesses about something in the present or future.

Examples:

• He won't be coming any time soon. He is still at the office.

• Beatrice will be getting married very soon.
USE 3: Questions
The last (but not least) use of the tense is to make polite questions about something or somebody.

Examples:

• Will you be coming home before or after 10 p.m.?

• Will you be going to the supermarket? I have something to buy.

Form

Contracted forms

WILL = 'LL

Example: She'll have been = she will have been

WILL + NOT = WON'T

Example: She won't have been = she will not have been

Important: The Future Continuous appears in two forms: "will" form and "going to" form which can
be used interchangably.
Example: "She will be dancing" means "she is going to be dancing"

Declarative Sentences
Subject Auxiliary verb Auxiliary verb Verb + ing
e.g. I/a dog + + +e.g.
will be
etc. working/going/making

• She'll be having a bath when I'm back home. (Use 1)

• Tomorrow at nine, I will be hosing off (=washing with a hose) my car. (Use 1)
• This time next week, I am going to be throwing a party. (Use 1)
• I'll be watching TV when my mother arrives. (Use 1)
• They will be getting home just about now. (Use 2)

Watch out!

Like any of the Future Tenses, Future Continuous cannot be used in sentences beginning with: while,
when, before, by the time, if, etc.

• By the time, you will be finishing your paiting.

Questions
Auxiliary verb Subject Auxiliary verb Verb + ing
+ + + ?
will I/you/we etc. be dancing / taking

• Is she going to be cooking when we knock at the door? (Use 1)

• Will Mark be playing football at 6 p.m.? (Use 1)
• Will you be using the screwdriver? (Use 3)

Negative Sentences
Subject + Auxiliary verb + Auxiliary verb +Verb + ing
e.g. I/a dog will not be e.g.
 etc. working/going/making

• We won't be having supper tomorrow before 8 o'clock. (Use 1)

• I am not going to be learning English tomorrow at this time. (Use 1)
• John won't be sleeping now (= I think John isn't sleeping now) (Use 2)