Future Perfect Tense

We use the future perfect tense when we view events from a future point in time, and talk about events that happened up to and before it.

Forming Future Perfect with will:

Forming Future Perfect with going to:

Using the Future Perfect Tense

A Completed Event Before a Future Point in Time

Use this tense to talk about something that will happen before a specific time in the future. Time clauses beginning with “by,” “by the time,” “when,” and “before” and using verbs in the simple present are often used to express the “specific future time.”

• By the time I am 35, I will have been to all seven continents.
• In October, I’m going to have lived in this apartment for a year.
• My mom hopes she will have retired by the time she is 65.
• By 6:00 pm, I will have finished my work, and I could meet you for dinner.

Note: Like all perfect tenses, we don’t know when exactly the main action happened, but just that it happened before a specific point in time.

Duration up to a Future Point (for Stative Verbs)

Use this tense to talk about an action that starts and then continues up to a specific point in the future.

Note: The Future Perfect is only used for stative (non-continuous) verbs. For action (continuous) verbs, use the present perfect continuous tense.

• By the time we graduate from college, Beth and I are going to have been best friends for 20 years.
• In 2018, Joanie will have lived in Paris for 3 years.
• Lucy and Daniel will have known each other for 5 years when they get married in June.

Negative Statements

To make negative statements with the future perfect:

add “not” before “going to”

add “not” after “will.” (the most common form is “won’t”)

• I won’t have seen you for ten years when you pick me up tomorrow.
• Satoko won’t have finished her essay by the time it is due.
• Maria and Lucinda aren’t going to have eaten when they arrive.
  

Question Forms

Information Questions about the Subject:

To make a question about the subject of a sentence, use a question word as the subject. The form is:

question word + will + have + main verb (past participle) + rest of sentence

question word + “to be” verb + going to + have + main verb (past participle) + rest of sentence

• ??? is going to have studied before the test tomorrow. –>
• Who is going to have studied before the test tomorrow?  
• ??? people will have ridden on the rollercoaster before it’s torn down. –>
• How many people will have ridden on the rollercoaster before it’s torn down?
• ???’s sister will have taught the kids to sing in time for the Christmas show. –>
• Whose sister will have taught the kids to sing in time for the Christmas show?

Questions about the Verb or Words after the Verb:

To make a yes/no question about the verb or words after the verb with the future perfect tense, put either the “will” or the “to be” verb before the subject:

Will + subject + be + main verb (present participle) + rest of sentence

“To be” verb + going to + main verb (present participle)  + rest of sentence

• Are you going to have drunk too much by the time you leave the party?
• Will you have decorated the house before the guests arrive?
• Will Sally have prepared a room for me by the time I get there?
• Is she going to have paid the phone bill before it’s overdue?

To make an open-ended question, put a question word (who, what, where, when, why, how) at the beginning of the sentence.

• Why are you going to have drunk too much by the time you leave the party?
• What will you have decorated the house with before the guests arrive?
• Who will have prepared a room for me by the time I get there?
• How is she going to have paid the phone bill before it’s overdue?