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.
IMG UNIT 28-01
Be at the airport in an hour, I will have arrived by then.
IMG UNIT 28-02
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
    'll
    have 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't
    have 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
IMG UNIT 28-03
- Will you have tidied your bedroom before I come back?
IMG UNIT 28-04
- 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.
    IMG UNIT 28-05
    He will have finished the fence by the weekend.
    IMG UNIT 28-06
    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.
    IMG UNIT 28-07
    Will the jury have reached a verdict by now?
    IMG UNIT 28-08
    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.
    IMG UNIT 28-09
    Next month we'll have been friends for 50 years.
    IMG UNIT 28-10
    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?