Future Perfect Tense
The future perfect tense is formed by using the simple future tense of the verb have (will have) + the past participle of the main verb. It is used for an action which will have finished by some future time or date as mentioned.
Examples:
- Statement: She will have sewn the patch on my jeans by tonight.
- Question: Will the people have put out the fire by the time the firemen arrive?
The future perfect tense is used:
to show that an activity will be completed by a specified time in the future.
Examples:
- You can come over tomorrow evening as you will have completedyour work by then.
- I will have saved about one million dollars by the year 2090.
to show that an action will be completed before another takes place in the future.
Examples:
- The fire will have burnt the building to the ground by the time the firemen arrive.
- He will have completed his homework before he goes to bed.
to show a situation that will be over in the future.
Examples:
- The special offer – buy two, get one free – will have ended by the weekend.
- They will have demolished that old building across the road by midday tomorrow.
with conditional if.
Examples:
- If you don't hurry up, they will have eaten all the food when you get there.
- I will have finished painting the fence within two hours if it doesn’t rain.
with time phrase/clause.
The future perfect tense may come either before or after the time clause. A comma is usually placed at the end of a time clause when the time clause comes before the main clause.
Examples:
- On April 1st, she will have stayed with me for six months.
- She will have stayed with me for six months on April 1st.
(The time phrase is on April 1st, and the main clause is she will have stayed with me for six months.)
- By the time he joins us, we will have been in the library for an hour.
- We will have been in the library for an hour by the time he joins us.
(The time clause is by the time he joins us, and the main clause is we will have been in the library for an hour.)
with time expressions such as by seven o'clock, by this evening, by next Thursday, by then, until noon tomorrow, before closing date.
Examples:
- We will have prepared the documents by next Friday.
- I will have woken up before the sun rises tomorrow.
Future perfect tense and future perfect continuous tense
Both these tenses convey the same meaning as show by this example.
Examples:
- When Joan competes in the marathon next week, she will have trained for nine months.
- When Joan competes in the marathon next week, she will have been training for nine months.
Future Perfect Tense (with Examples)
The future perfect tense is used to describe an action that will have been completed at some point in the future. It is often used with a time expression which identifies that point in the future.
Examples of the Future Perfect Tense
Here are some examples of the future perfect tense (shaded):
- By the time you arrive, we will have finished the meal and the speeches.
- I will have read every magazine in the waiting room before I see the dentist.
(Note: "By the time you arrive" identifies the point in the future.)
(Note: The clause "before I see the dentist" identifies the point in the future.)
Of course, you can also have the negative version, which is formed "will not have" + "[past particple]":
- By the time you arrive, we will not have finished the meal and the speeches.
- I will not have read every magazine in the waiting room before I see the dentist.
And the question versions:
- Will you have finished the meal and the speeches by the time I arrive?
- Will you have read every magazine in the waiting room before you see the dentist?
Forming the Future Perfect Tense
Here is an infographic explaining the future perfect tense:
Other Future Tenses
The future perfect tense is one of four future tenses. They are:
| The 4 Future Tenses | Example |
|---|---|
| simple future tense | I will go |
| future progressive tense | I will be going |
| future perfect tense | I will have gone |
| future perfect progressive | I will have been going |
The Future Perfect Tense
The form of the future perfect tense is will + have + past participle of the verb.Sometimes, especially in first person, shall is used instead of will.
The future perfect tense is used to indicate a completed action in the future. When we use the future perfect tense, we are projecting ourselves into the future. It is most often used with an expression of time.
Examples
Kelly will have been here for four months on June 25th.
By the time you read this I will have slept.
You will have finished your essay by this time tomorrow.
Won't they have left by 6:00 p.m.?
Uses
1. The Future Perfect indicates that something will happen before another action in the future. It can also show that something will happen before a particular time in the future.
Examples:
By next January, I will have received my promotion.
I am not going to have finished this book by 3 o'clock.
By the time I finish my Bachelor degree, I will have taken ten tests.
Please note that in the examples above, the time reference points in the examples above are in Simple Present rather than Simple Future. This is because you cannot use future tenses in time clauses.
2. We use the Future Perfect to show that something will continue up until another action in the future. This is most often used with non-continuous verbs.
Examples:
I will have been in Paris for nine months by the time I leave.
By Tuesday, Mary is going to have had my book for a month.
Note: The words "live," "teach," "work," and "study" are sometimes used in this way even though they are not Non-Continuous Verbs.
Worksheet
Fill in the blanks in the following sentences by using the appropriate future tense forms of the verbs in brackets.
- The train ............... by the time we reach the station.(arrive)
- This book is not long. I ............... it by lunchtime. (read)
- By 2018, computers ............... many jobs that people do today. (take over)
- I ............... by tests by next week. (complete)
- She ............... before you reach her house. (leave)
- By the end of this month, I ............... here for five years. (work)
- By the end of the year, I ............... $1000. (save)
- By the 30th of this month, I ............... all the books in our local library. (read)
Answers
- The train will have arrived by the time we reach the station.
- This book is not long. I will have read it by lunch time.
- By 2018, computers will have taken over many jobs that people do today.
- I shall have completed by tests by next week.
- She will have left before you reach her house.
- By the end of this month, I will have worked here for five years.
- By the end of the year, I shall have saved $1000.
- By the 30th of this month, I will have read all the books in our local library.
Tense
Present Tense
Past
Tense
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