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Future perfect
Verb tenses
1. Future perfect
The future perfect is mainly used to refer to actions that will be completed at a particular time in the future.
Be at the airport in an hour, I will have arrived by then.
It's said that by the end of the century, sea levels will have risen between 18 and 59 cm.
2. Structure of future perfect
- Affirmative form
Subject Auxiliary Have Verb
(past participle)Examples I will
'llhave finished I will have finished by Monday. You You will have finished by Monday. He He will have finished by Monday. She She will have finished by Monday. It It will have finished by Monday. We We will have finished by Monday. You You will have finished by Monday. They They will have finished by Monday. - Negative form
Subject Auxiliary Have Verb
(past participle)Examples I will not
won'thave finished I won't have finished by Monday. You You won't have finished by Monday. He He won't have finished by Monday. She She won't have finished by Monday. It It won't have finished by Monday. We We won't have finished by Monday. You You won't have finished by Monday. They They won't have finished by Monday. - Interrogative form
Auxiliary Subject Have Verb
(past participle)Examples Will I have finished? Will I have finished by Monday? You Will you have finished by Monday? He Will he have finished by Monday? She Will she have finished by Monday? It Will it have finished by Monday? We Will we have finished by Monday? You Will you have finished by Monday? They Will they have finished by Monday?
The past participle is formed by adding -ed to a regular verb, or by looking at the third column of the list of irregular verbs if the verb is irregular.
Interrogative sentences in future perfect have their own short answers.
| Adverb | Subject | Auxiliary |
|---|---|---|
| Yes, | I | will |
| you | ||
| he | ||
| she | ||
| it | ||
| we | ||
| you | ||
| they |
| Adverb | Subject | Auxiliary |
|---|---|---|
| No, | I | won't |
| you | ||
| he | ||
| she | ||
| it | ||
| we | ||
| you | ||
| they |
- Will you have tidied your bedroom before I come back?
- Yes, I will.
3. How do we use the future perfect?
The future perfect is used for:
- An action that will be completed before a particular time in the future, or another action that will occur in the future.
He will have finished the fence by the weekend.
By the time I get to work, the meeting will have already started. - An action that will be completed in the near past. Usually applied to make deductions.
Will the jury have reached a verdict by now?
The plane will have taken off by now. - An action will have taken place over a period of time up to a particular point in the future.
Next month we'll have been friends for 50 years.
Tomorrow they'll have been in China for 2 weeks - Some expressions that are usually used with the future perfect are the following:
Expresiones By the time By Monday / next month By now / then By the year 2050 Before / not... until
Remember!
The future perfect tense is used to express actions that will be completed before a moment or action in the future; for actions that we assume will have ended in the very near past and for actions that will have taken place over a period of time up to a particular point in the future.
| Form | Structure | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| AFFIRMATIVE | Subject + will + have + verb (past participle) | He'll have arrived home by now. |
| NEGATIVE | Subject + won't + have + verb (past participle) | You won't have finished until 6:00. |
| INTERROGATIVE | Will + subject + have + verb (past participle)? | Will you have cooked dinner by then? |