THE FUTURE PERFECT TENSE

In English, the future perfect construction consists of the auxiliary verb will (or shall; see shall and will) to mark the future, the auxiliary verb have to mark the perfect, and the past participle of the main verb (the second component of the English perfect construction). For example:

She will have fallen asleep by the time we get home. I shall have gone by then. Will you have finished when I get back?

The first auxiliary may be contracted to 'll: see English auxiliaries and contractions. The negative form is made with will not or shall not; these have their own contractions won't andshan't. Some examples:

I'll have made the dinner by 6. He won't have done (or will not have done) it by this evening. Won't you have finished by Thursday? (or Will you not have finished by Thursday?)

Most commonly the future perfect is used with a time marker that indicates by when (i.e. prior to what point in time) the event is to occur, as in the previous examples. However it is also possible for it to be accompanied by a marker of the retrospective time of occurrence, as in "I will have done it on the previous Tuesday". This is in contrast to the present perfect, which is not normally used with a marker of past time: one would not say *"I have done it last Tuesday", since the inclusion of the past time marker last Tuesday would entail the use of the simple past rather than the present perfect. The English future perfect places the action relative only to the absolute future reference point, without specifying the location in time relative to the present. In most cases the action will be in the future relative to the present, but this is not necessarily the case: for example, "If it rains tomorrow, we will have worked in vain yesterday." [1] The future perfect construction with will (like other constructions with that auxiliary) is sometimes used to refer to a confidently assumed present situation rather than a future situation, as in "He will have woken up by now." The time of perspective of the English future perfect can be shifted from the present to the past by replacing will with its past tense form would, thus effectively creating a "past of the future of the past" construction in which the indicated event or situation occurs before a time that occurs after the past time of perspective: In 1982, I knew that by 1986 I would have already gone to prison. This construction is identical to the English conditional perfect construction. An obsolete term found in old grammars for the English future perfect is the "second future tense."[2][3] For more information, see the sections on the future perfect and future perfect progressive in the article on uses of English verb forms.

Future Perfect has two different forms: "will have done" and "be going to have done." Unlike Simple Futureforms, Future Perfect forms are usually interchangeable. FORM Future Perfect with "Will" [will have + past participle] Examples:

You will have perfected your English by the time you come back from the U.S. Will you have perfected your English by the time you come back from the U.S.? You will not have perfected your English by the time you come back from the U.S.

FORM Future Perfect with "Be Going To" [am/is/are + going to have + past participle] Examples:

You are going to have perfected your English by the time you come back from the U.S. Are you going to have perfected your English by the time you come back from the U.S.? You are not going to have perfected your English by the time you come back from the U.S.

NOTE: It is possible to use either "will" or "be going to" to create the Future Perfect with little or no difference in meaning. Complete List of Future Perfect Forms USE 1 Completed Action Before Something in the Future

The Future Perfect expresses the idea that something will occur before another action in the future. It can also show that something will happen before a specific time in the future. Examples:

By next November, I will have received my promotion. By the time he gets home, she is going to have cleaned the entire house. I am not going to have finished this test by 3 o'clock. Will she have learned enough Chinese to communicate before she moves to Beijing?

Sam is probably going to have completed the proposal by the time he leaves this afternoon. By the time I finish this course, I will have taken ten tests. How many countries are you going to have visited by the time you turn 50?

Notice in the examples above that the reference points (marked in italics) are in Simple Present rather than Simple Future. This is because the interruptions are in time clauses, and you cannot use future tenses in time clauses. USE 2 Duration Before Something in the Future (Non-Continuous Verbs)

With Non-Continuous Verbs and some non-continuous uses of Mixed Verbs, we use the Future Perfect to show that something will continue up until another action in the future. Examples:

I will have been in London for six months by the time I leave. By Monday, Susan is going to have had my book for a week.

Although the above use of Future Perfect is normally limited to Non-Continuous Verbs and non-continuous uses of Mixed Verbs, the words "live," "work," "teach," and "study" are sometimes used in this way even though they are NOT Non-Continuous Verbs. REMEMBER No Future in Time Clauses Like all future forms, the Future Perfect cannot be used in clauses beginning with time expressions such as: when, while, before, after, by the time, as soon as, if, unless, etc. Instead of Future Perfect, Present Perfect is used. Examples:

I am going to see a movie when I will have finished my homework. Not Correct I am going to see a movie when I have finished my homework. Correct

ADVERB PLACEMENT The examples below show the placement for grammar adverbs such as: always, only, never, ever, still, just, etc. Examples:

You will only have learned a few words. Will you only have learned a few words? You are only going to have learned a few words. Are you only going to have learned a few words?

ACTIVE / PASSIVE Examples:

They will have completed the project before the deadline. ACTIVE The project will have been completed before the deadline. PASSIVE They are going to have completed the project before the deadline. ACTIVE The project is going to have been completed before the deadline. PASSIVE

How do we make the Future Perfect Tense? The structure of the future perfect tense is: subject + auxiliary verb WILL invariable will + auxiliary verb HAVE invariable have + main verb past participle V3

Look at these example sentences in the future perfect tense: subject auxiliary verb will will auxiliary verb have have main verb finished forgotten by 10am. me by then. to school.

+ +

I You

? ?

She We Will Will

will will you they

not not

have have have have

gone left. arrived? received

it?

In speaking with the future perfect tense, we often contract the subject and will. Sometimes, we contract the subject, will and have all together:

I will have you will have he will have she will have it will have we will have they will have

I'll have you'll have he'll have she'll have it'll have we'll have they'll have

I'll've you'll've he'll've she'll've it'll've we'll've they'll've

We sometimes use shall instead of will, especially for I and we. How do we use the Future Perfect Tense? The future perfect tense expresses action in the future before another action in the future. This is thepast in the future. For example:

The train will leave the station at 9am. You will arrive at the station at 9.15am. When you arrive, the train will have left. The train will have left when you arrive. past present future Train leaves in future at 9am. 9 9.15

You arrive in future at 9.15am.

Look at some more examples:

You can call me at work at 8am. I will have arrived at the office by 8. They will be tired when they arrive. They will not have slept for a long time.

"Mary won't be at home when you arrive." "Really? Where will she have gone?"

You can sometimes think of the future perfect tense like the present perfect tense, but instead of your viewpoint being in the present, it is in the future: present perfect tense | have | done | >| future perfect tense will have done > | | | |

past

now

future

past

now

future