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Grammatical structures
Future perfect : Subject + will + have + past participle (verb #3)
(positive) I will have eaten my lunch.
(negative) I won’t (will not) have eaten my lunch.
(question) Will you have eaten your lunch?
(positive) You will have done it.
(negative) You won’t (will not) have done it.
(question) Will you have done it?
(positive) He will have finished his homework.
(negative) He won’t (will not) have finished his homework.
(question) Will he have finished his homework?
(Remember, the grammatical structure never changes. We cannot say: He wills has finished his homework.)
Future Perfect Continuous: Subject + will + have + been + present participle (verb “ing”)
(positive) I will have been working.
(negative) I won’t (will not) have been working.
(question) Will you have been working?
(positive) They will have been playing.
(negative) They won’t (will not) have been playing.
(question) Will they have been playing?
(positive) We will have been traveling.
(negative) We won’t (will not) have been traveling.
(question) Will they have been traveling?
(Remember, the grammatical structure never changes. We cannot say: She wills has been working.)
Future Perfect:
used to express a completed future action before a future time
When you use the future perfect, you need to think of TWO things.
- a future time
- a completed action before this future time
I will have finished my dinner by 7 p.m.
1. future time: 7 p.m.
2. a completed action: will have finished
Elaine will have received the package by Monday.
1. future time: Monday
2. a completed action: will have received
The ice on the lake will have melted by next week.
1. future time: next week
2. a completed action: will have melted
I’ll have finished the report by 5.
1. future time: 5
2. a completed action: will have finished
You can see that all of my examples use BY + time. This means BEFORE. Yes, you could use BEFORE instead of BY, but BY is very common with the future perfect.
Do we know specifically when this action will be completed? No, anytime between the present and the future time. We don’t know.
IMPORTANT: The future times are not random! There is a reason we need to mention the future time.
First example: I will have finished my dinner by 7 p.m.
Maybe someone wants to call you at 7. You use the future perfect to express that you will have finished your dinner before then.
Second example: Elaine will have received the package by Monday.
Maybe “Monday” is Elaine’s birthday. You use the future perfect to express that the package will arrive before Monday.
Third example: The ice on the lake will have melted by next week.
Maybe you want to go ice-skating on this lake. You use the future perfect to express that the ice will have melted before then.
Fourth example: I’ll have finished the report by 5.
Maybe your boss will leave his/her office at 5. You use the future perfect to express that you have finished the report before then.
If that future time is not important. You can just use a different tense.
I will finish my dinner / I am going to finish my dinner. (future simple) – 7 p.m. is irrelevant so I don’t need to use the future perfect.
COMMON MISTAKES:
We do not need the future perfect to express obvious things:
By the time I arrive at my office, I will have left my house.
✅grammatically correct
X unnatural because obvious
We do not need the future perfect to express random things:
By the time I finish breakfast, I will have showered.
✅grammatically correct
X unnatural because it’s not clear why it’s important that the shower happens before breakfast.
CLICK the image
By the time + subject + present simple verb
By the time you get home, the guests will have left.
The guests will have left by the time you get home.
When the time phrase starts a clause it usually needs a comma after it. If it doesn’t start a clause, no comma is necessary.
Do we always need BY or WHEN with the future perfect? No.
Six weeks from now, I will have gotten married, moved into my new house and started my new job.
At 6, everyone will have left the office.
AND the future time does not need to be in the same sentence. It can be somewhere in the conversation or text.
A: Do you think my drawing will be here tomorrow?
B: No, it will have been washed away.
Why is there an extra verb? “been + washed?”
This is the future perfect passive voice.
Can I just use the FUTURE SIMPLE?
Sometimes, yes.
(future perfect) Elaine will have received the package by Monday.
(future simple) Elaine will receive the package by Monday.
In this case, there is little to no difference and it’s clear that the package will arrive before Monday.
FUTURE SIMPLE OR FUTURE CONTINUOUS?
But, these two tenses are not always interchangeable. Take a look at the timelines in these two images:
Future Perfect Continuous:
used to express the duration of an action up to a future time
When you use the future perfect continuous, you need to think of TWO things.
- a future time
- the duration of an action up to a specific time
By 2030, I will have been teaching English for 20 years.
1. future time: 2030
2. the duration up to that time: for 20 years
3. the action may or may not continue: In this example, the person will probably continue teaching unless he/she is retiring.
Please cook dinner tonight. I’ll have been taking care of the kids all day.
1. future time: tonight
2. the duration up to that time: all day
3. the action may or may not continue: In this example, the parent might stop taking care of the kids and take a break because his/her partner has come home.
Next year I turn 40 years old. I will have been working in the same job, living in the same apartment, eating the same food, and doing the same things.
1. future time: next year
2. the duration up to that time: not necessary because it’s clear this person means for his/her whole adult life
3. the action may or may not continue: In this example, the person might quit his/her job and try to change his or her life. OR, he/she won’t change anything. We don’t know.
A: I left the milk on the counter. I’ll put it back in the fridge when we get home.
B: When we get home it will have been sitting on the counter all day. You might want to throw it away.
1. future time: when we get home
2. the duration up to that time: all day
3. the action may or may not continue: In this example, the milk will probably get thrown away and the action ends.
When we use this tense, you want to imagine that you are projecting yourself into the future. You look back and think the duration is important or impressive.
- First example: By 2030, I will have been teaching English for 20 years. – 20 years is impressive
- Second example: Please cook dinner tonight. I’ll have been taking care of the kids all day. – taking care of kids is hard work
- Third example: Next year I turn 40 years old. I will have been working in the same job, living in the same apartment, eating the same food, and doing the same things. – Your 40th birthday is a milestone. This person is reflecting on how everything has been the same
- Fourth example: When we get home, the milk will have been sitting on the counter all day. You might want to throw it away. – Milk will go bad if it sits out all day.
COMMON MISTAKE:
We do not need the future perfect continuous when the future time or duration is not important or impressive:
Where’s the bus? In 5 minutes, we will have been waiting for 10 minutes.
✅grammatically correct
X What’s special about 5 minutes from now?
If that future time isn’t important, it would be better to just use a different tense.
Where’s the bus? We have been waiting for 10 minutes. present perfect continuous
Let’s compare the Future Perfect and the Future Perfect Continuous
My car will have driven 100,000 miles by next month.
a completed action – Once the car reaches 100,000 miles, that action is done.
Can you believe that my car will have been driving my family around for 8 years without a single problem?
emphasis on duration – 8 years without a problem is impressive
And this person will probably continue to use this car.
I will have run the marathon by then.
a completed action – Once a marathon is done, it’s done.
I will have been running for 6 years by then.
emphasis on duration – 6 years
And this person will probably continue to run as a hobby.
Be, have, think, like, love, hate, seem, belong, own, remember, understand, believe, know etc.
These verbs are STATIVE verbs. Stative verbs are special verbs because they describe states. States are things that don’t change often like our opinions, situations, thoughts, etc.
I have one older sister.
This state will not change.
I hate celery.
This state will not change. (Seriously, I hate celery. I’ll even put a picture of it here so you know to never offer me any.)
Why am I talking about stative verbs? Because stative verbs are not normally used in continuous tenses.
✅ Next year this house will have belonged to my family for exactly 99 years.
X Next year this house will have been belonging to my family for 99 years.
Yes, even though we have the phrase “for exactly 99 years”, we cannot use the future perfect continuous because of the stative verb: belong.
LIVE and WORK
Next year, I will have lived in this house for 15 years. / Next year, I will have been living in this house for 15 years.
By the end of this month, I will have worked here for 6 months. / By the end of this month, I will have been working here for 6 months.
LIVE and WORK are action verbs, but they are similar to states. People don’t usually change where they live or work. In this case, both tenses give you the same meaning. In both situations, you will probably continue living / working in the same place.
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