One of the most difficult tenses in English for a Russian-speaking person is the Future Perfect Continuous Tense. This is due to the fact that there is simply no analogue of the future perfect continuous in Russian. In the Future Perfect Continuous we are always talking about two actions in the future, one of which will begin earlier, but will continue at the time the other occurs. In Russian, this time corresponds to phrases like: “I will have been working on this project for three hours by the time my colleague returns” or “At night I will have already been asleep for two hours when your plane lands.” Of course, Russian people sometimes think in this way, but in general it is not very common for us to compare two actions in the future. However, native English speakers do not refer to this time too often.
In fact, making friends with the Future Perfect Continuous is not at all difficult. After all, there are very few cases of using this tense in English. All you have to do is remember the scheme for constructing sentences with the future perfect continuous. A, which are quite easily recognizable and often intuitive, will help to accurately determine that we are talking about exactly this tense.
In what cases is the Future Perfect Continuous used?
As we have already said, there are very few situations in which we turn to the Future Perfect Continuous, and to be precise, only two:
- If we are talking about continuous actions, the duration of which is indicated at a certain point in the future. For example, By the time of his birthday they have been dating for 5 years. - By his birthday they will have been dating for 5 years.
- If a long-term action that began earlier will cause a subsequent action in the future. For example, She will be tired when she gets home because she will have been traveling for over 24 hours. - She will be tired when she returns home, because by that time she will have been on the road for more than 24 hours.
It is also important to understand here that if in a subordinate clause in a statement with the Future Perfect Continuous there is a conjunction when (when), then we are turning not to the Future Simple, but to the Present Simple:
When I finish(not I"ll finish) my work she will have been sleeping for over an hour. - When I finish my work, she will have been sleeping for over an hour.
How are sentences constructed in the future perfect continuous tense?
Future Perfect Continuous from the point of view of grammar is a fusion of three tenses: future simple (Future Simple), perfect (Perfect) and simple continuous (Continuous). Therefore, elements of all three of the above English tenses will participate in the formation of this temporary structure. From the future Future Perfect Continuous takes the auxiliary verb will, from the perfect - have been, and from the continuous - the ing form of the semantic verb. We can also say that we obtain the future perfect continuous tense by adding the auxiliary verb to be in the form Future Perfect (will have been) to the semantic verb ending in ing. From here we derive a simple formula for constructing an affirmative sentence in the Future Perfect Continuous:
Subject + will have been + semantic verb ending in ing.
Johnny will have been studying for 3 hours by the time she arrives. - Johnny will have been studying for 3 hours by the time she arrives.
By the end of the year Jane will have been teaching us for 5 years. - By the end of the year, Jane will have been teaching us for 5 years.
By the time she gets here, we will have been working for 12 hours. - By the time she gets here, we will have been working for 12 hours.
At the same time, in most often act as adverbs of time and are placed both at the beginning and at the end of a sentence.
The question is constructed by rearranging the subject and the auxiliary verb will:
Question word (if present) + will + subject + have been + Ving?
Will they have been eating cake for 15 minutes by the time you bring them coffee? - Will they have been eating the cake for 15 minutes by the time you bring them coffee?
Will I have been feeling better by the time the exams start? - Will I feel better by the time the exams start?
Will I have been working for 5 hours when he finds us? - I’ll have been working for 5 hours already, when will he find us?
In order to express any negative thought, you will need to place the negative particle not (in the abbreviated version won"t) between will and have been:
Subject + will + not + have been + Ving.
By the end of the year Kate will not have been studying Spanish for 3 years. - By the end of this year, Kate will not have studied Spanish for three years.
By the time you bring them coffee they will not have been eating cake for 15 minutes. - By the time you bring them coffee, they won't eat the cake for 15 minutes.
We won't have been living here for 5 years by next June. - We will not have lived here for 5 years by next June.
Future Perfect Continuous: markers
Future Perfect Continuous markers- these are most often whole phrases, that is, quite cumbersome constructions, although there are also individual words. It is not difficult to remember the indicators of the future perfect continuous tense. In fact, the list of markers of this time includes a couple of words and several similar constructions.
Time indicators Future Perfect Continuous. List
- Till and until (not yet).I will have been watching TV until you come. - I'll watch TV until you come.
- for 2 (3, 4, 5...) hours (for/already 2, 3, 4, 5... hours).When you arrive, Julia will have been working for 5 hours. - When you arrive, Julia will have been working for 5 hours.
- for 2 (3, 4, 5...) weeks (for/already 2, 3, 4, 5... weeks).By the end of the summer the workers will have been constructing this swimming pool for 3 weeks. - By the end of summer, workers will have been building the pool for 3 weeks.
- for a year (2, 3, 4... years) - during the year (2, 3, 4 years).By the end of the year they will not have been dating for 2 years. By the end of the year, they will not have dated for 2 years.
- by the end of the hour (by the end of the hour).By the end of the hour she will have been waiting for him for 30 minutes. - By the end of the hour she will have been waiting for him for 30 minutes.
- by the end of the morning/evening (by the end of the morning/evening).By the end of the morning I will have been waiting for more than 3 hours. - By the end of the morning I will have been waiting for more than 3 hours.
- by the end of the day (by the end of the day).By the end of the day my mother will have been cooking for 5 hours. - By the end of the day, my mother will have been cooking for 5 hours.
- by the end of the month (by the end of the month).By the end of the month I will have been studying English for 10 days. - By the end of the month I will be learning English for 10 days.
- by the end of the year (by the end of the year).By the end of the year John will have been working there for 10 month. - By the end of the year, John will have been working there for 10 months.
It turns out that to identify Future Perfect Continuous is helped by indicator words till/until and phrases starting with the prepositions for and by. That is, if the statement says that by the end of a certain period or/and during a certain time interval actions will take place, then most likely we are talking about the future perfect continuous tense.
Examples with Future Perfect Continuous
In order to get used to the peculiarities of this time, it is recommended to read as much as possible and compose sentences on your own. To begin with, you can take ready-made examples, adapting them to your life situations. When buildingFuture Perfect Continuous indicator wordsextremely important. Without them, the sentence of the future perfect continuous will be incomplete. We can turn to this time to describe both ordinary situations related to work, study, leisure, and to predict some important events from the world of science and art that will happen in the future. Here are some more example sentences with the Future Perfect Continuous:
- Betsy won't have been living in London for five years next summer. - By next summer, Betsy won't have lived in London for five years.
- By 10 o"clock Jacky will have been writing the article for 3 hours non-stop. - By 10 o'clock Jacky will have been writing the article for three hours non-stop.
- They won't have been waiting for more than 3 hours when their train finally arrives. - They won't wait more than 3 hours when their train finally arrives.
- By the end of the month my aunt will have been living with her husband for 10 years. - By the end of the month, my aunt will have been living with her husband for 10 years.
- Next week this American scientist will have been studying the human brain for 5 years. - Next week it will be 5 years since this American scientist has been studying the human brain.
- For how many years will James have been taking part in the Film Festival in Moscow by that time? - How many years will James take part in the film festival in Moscow by then?
- When my parents come home my brother will have been talking to his friend for 3 hours. - When my parents come home, my brother will talk to his friend for 3 hours.
- How long will you have been talking to your friend when the film starts? - How long will you talk to your friend when the movie starts?
- She won"t have been listening to music for 2 hours when you come. - She won’t listen to music for 2 hours when you come.
- By the end of the year people will not have been living on the moon for a year. - By the end of the year, people will not live on the moon for a year.
- By July I will have been studying English for five months. - By July I will have been studying English for five months.
- He will have been working at that company for 5 years when it finally closes. - He will work for this company for 5 years when it finally closes.
In addition to the above-mentioned time markers starting with the words by the end, the preposition for, as well as the conjunction when (when), in the presented examples you can also notice the followingFuture Perfect Continuous tense indicators, such as the adjective next, which is generally characteristic of the future.
It is important to understand that some sentences in the Future Perfect Continuous may sound ridiculous when translated literally into Russian. A Russian-speaking person is unlikely to say that by the end of this month his aunt will have been married to his uncle for 10 years. After all, this same idea can be formulated much more simply by saying that at the end of the month it is the relatives’ wedding anniversary. This is why translating phrases with the Future Perfect Continuous can sometimes cause some difficulties. To avoid this, it is important to understand in what cases this tense is used.
Usually, the study of the grammar of English tenses is completed with the least used and almost never encountered constructions in speech. Today we will consider one of these cases - the category of future perfect continuous. The desire to use this multi-element and confusing aspect rarely arises even among the most prim Englishmen, who zealously honor the traditions of the language, let alone Americans, and even more so foreigners...
But it’s still worth having an idea about this construction, otherwise you can get into an awkward situation by misunderstanding the meaning of your interlocutor’s phrase or the context of a sentence in an artistic or journalistic text. Let's find out what the construction of this tense consists of, what its behavior is in the active and passive voice, and in what cases it will still be necessary to use this particular tense form.
If you try to translate the name of this group of tenses, you will literally get the expression “ future perfect continuous" actions. Or, if we take the second name future perfect progressive, we get “ completely progressive in the future" actions. It is unlikely that it will be possible to adapt the translation into Russian into a more correct short phrase, since the meaning of time is difficult to describe in three words. Let us try to analyze in detail what factors make up the meaning of expressions with this aspect.
Firstly, since the construction contains a continuum, it means that we are talking about a long-term action that is in the process of execution. But how to connect process with perfection? English grammar answers this question as follows: the perfect progressive allows us to denote an action that began quite a long time ago, is happening at the moment and, most likely, will continue to happen. And here we pay attention to the last factor, that is, to the future, and we understand that in our case this action will definitely be performed beyond the present moment. Let's give a simple example.
- We will have been studying Chinese language for 3 years by 2019 – K2019Wewe willlearnChineselanguage3 years.
The meaning of what has been said is that we started teaching it a long time ago, we are teaching it now, and by 2019 it will be 3 years since we have been teaching it. Please note the cumbersome predicate of this sentence. The love of English speakers for various simplifications and abbreviations, of course, completely contradicts the use of this type of tense. Therefore, most often, the phrase is transformed into Future Continuous, Simple or any other method of expressing the future, of which the English language is rich. But, since some people prefer to construct such extensive sentences, it is worth studying the composition of such predicates.
Building structures in a sentence
According to the norms of English grammar, this aspect of tense is used in both active and passive voice. Let's study each type separately and draw up generalized diagrams. According to good tradition, we will consolidate the received theory by completing exercises of varying complexity for the future perfect continuous.
Active voice
To form an affirmative form, it is necessary to combine in the predicate such grammatical elements as: the word-helper for creating the future tense will, the perfect infinitive of the verb to be (=have been) and the present participle, that is, participle I.
- We(1) will (2) have been(3)painting(4) the pictures for an hour when mother allows us to go in the yard(5) – Wewe willpaintthesepaintingsmorehour, WhenMotherwill allowusgoinyard.
When constructing sentences with subordinate clauses attached by time conjunctions, it is important to remember that they cannot use the future tense. Therefore, their predicate is always put in the form of aspects of the present group. The order of words may change slightly if it is necessary to emphasize the circumstance of time.
- By next April, our teacher will have already been working at our school for 25 years – KnextApril, ourteacherwillworkVourschoolalready25 years.
Please note that when translating, the meaning of phrases is conveyed by imperfective verbs.
To express a question, the predicate is divided and the auxiliary will is put in first place.
- Will he have been writing his poem for the whole year before they sign a contract with him? - Hewillwritemypoemwholeyear, beforehowTheywill signWithhimContract?
If there are special interrogative constructions, will gives way to them.
- Howlongwill youhave been living inthisflatbynextyear? – How long will you live in this apartment by next year?
When denoting the negation of an action in the future perfect progressive (continuous), the word not is added to the verb will, and the combination we are already familiar with will not or in the abbreviated form won’t.
- In two weeks, I will not have been writing a single line of a new novel for 7 month – Viatwoweekswillalready7 months, HowINotwritingneitherlinesnewnovel.
- By the end of the week, you won't have been doing your homework for 5 days – KendweeksYouNotyou willfulfillhomeI've been working for 5 days already.
The English language also allows you to use a special type of expressions in which negative questions are used. At the same time, in the official form “not” remains in the same place, but in informal speech the abbreviated construction “won’t” comes completely forward. Let's look at examples of sentences of this type.
- Will he not have been driving for 8 hours before I replace him – Is itHeNotwillbehindsteering wheel8 ocloc'k, beforehowII'll replace ithis?
- Won't she have been cooking pizza for 30 minutes, when we come? - Is it possible?sheNotwillpreparepizzaalready30 minutes, WhenWewe'll come?
This is how this tense is used in the active voice. Next, we’ll find out what its forms look like in passive structures.
Passive voice
As already stated, the rules of grammar theoretically allow the use of a category called future continuous passive in expressions of this aspect. But it’s worth mentioning right away that such usage is not at all typical for English speech, and moreover, many linguists consider it completely unacceptable. Many textbooks contain information that passive voice constructions are used only for continuous tenses of the Present and Past Progressive groups. But, nevertheless, these combinations are not officially recognized as incorrect, so let’s take note of their construction.
As in the active form, to compose the predicate you will need will and have been. But otherwise the designs differ. To convey duration, a new element is introduced - being, and the main meaning falls on the past participle (participle II).
- Thepromotionalvideo (1) will (2) have been (3) being (4) demonstrated (5) bytheFirstChannelbeforetheelectionsbegin (6) – This commercial will be shown by Channel One before the elections begin.
Please note that in this case the preposition by expresses not time, but the main character.
You may notice that in the passive voice there is a double use of to be (been and being). It is this “butter oil” that causes controversy about the incorrectness of using this form in the future perfect continuous. Stylistically, the phrase sounds ugly, but from a grammatical point of view, everything is correct. Still, most Englishmen would prefer to remove the doubled to be and replace this construction with a simple future perfect.
- Thepromotionalvideo will have been demonstrated bytheFirstChannelbeforetheelectionsbegin – This commercial will be shown by Channel One before the elections begin.
Future perfect continuous – summary table
Let's compile a generalized table in which we give examples of constructions and sentences of various types. This cheat sheet will help you complete any exercise and will be useful when translating texts with a similar structure.
| Future perfect continuous tense | |||
| Category | + | ? | — |
| Active voice | …
willhavebeen pr.I(-ing)…
Mary will have been singing this song at her concerts until they forbid her to do it. Mary will sing this song at her concerts until they stop her from doing so. |
Will...have been. I (-ing) ...?
Will you have been playing the performance for a year when you take part in the contest? Will you be performing this performance for a year already when you take part in the competition? |
… will not (won’t) have been. I(-ing)…
By June Jack Brown won't have been writing the verses for 9 months. By June it will be 9 months since Jack Brown wrote these poems. |
| Passive voice | … will have been being. II (-
The song will have been being sung by Mary at her concerts until they forbid her to do it. This song will be performed by Mary at her concerts until they stop her from doing so. |
Will …have been being. II (-ed or 3 form cont. verb) ...?
Will the performance have been being played by you for a year when you take part in the contest? Will you be performing this performance for a year already, when will you take part in the competition? |
…will not have been being. II (-ed or 3 form cont. verb) ...
By June the universes won't have been written by Jack Brown for 9 months. By June it will be 9 months since these poems were written by Jack Brown. |
Many people think that Future Perfect(complete tense) belongs to the most difficult group of English tenses (Perfect), so it is not easy to master.
But this is not so, and now you will see everything for yourself.
This tense is used when you want to say that you will do something by a certain time in the future. For example: “I will lose weight by summer. She will have finished her report by Wednesday. We'll fix the car before dad comes."
As you can see, we say that in the future we will get a certain result in the future, so this is perfect - perfect tense.
Knowing this tense will significantly diversify your speech and make it richer.
In this article I will explain to you when to use the Future Perfect and how to correctly construct sentences in this tense.
From the article you will learn:
If you are not familiar with the times of the Perfect group, then I advise you to start with the following articles:
Rules for using the Future Perfect tense in English
When we use Future Perfect
1. We use the Future Perfect tense (future perfect/finished) when we say that we will finish something (get a result) by a certain point in time in the future.
For example: I will read this book by the weekend.
2. This tense can also be used to say that one action will end before another occurs.
For example: They will clean the apartment before their parents arrive.
As you can see, understanding the use of this time is very simple. Let's look at a clear example again.
For example, today you are thinking about writing a book, or maybe you have already started writing one. And you tell your friends that by the end of the year (a month, a week, etc.) you will write it. That is, you will have a finished result - a written book.
So that you do not confuse the Future Perfect tense with other future tenses, let's look at their differences.
Difference between Future Perfect, Future Simple and Future Continuous
All these 3 times are very easy to distinguish. Let's see how they differ.
Difference between Future Simple and Future Perfect
Future Simple is translated as "future simple".
We use it when we talk about an action that will happen in the future. Read more about this time.
Let's look at an example:
I will fly to New York.
I'll fly to New York.
In this sentence we are talking about action as fact that will happen in the future.
Now let's look at the sentence in the Future Perfect:
In this sentence you are saying that by a certain time in the future (Friday), the action will have ended and you will receive result- you will be in New York City.
Difference between Future Continuous and Future Perfect
Future Continuous is translated as "future continuous".
We use this tense when we want to emphasize duration of action. That is, the action will begin in the future and will last for some time. You can find out more about this time in this article.
Let's look at an example:
I will be flying to New York this time.
I will be flying to America at this time.
That is, we say that in the future we will board a plane and will be in the process of flying for some time.
Let's go back to our sentence in Future Perfect:
I will have flown to New York by Friday.
I'll be in New York by Friday.
You don’t care how long you will be in flight, that is, the duration/process of the action. Is important to you result- your landing and location in New York.
Tenses comparison table: Future Perfect, Future Simple and Future Continuous
| Time | Example | What do we focus on? | |
| Future Simple |
I will clean my room. |
We talk about an action as a fact that will happen in the future. |
|
| Future Continuous |
I will be cleaning my room for 2 hours. |
We emphasize the duration of an action that will occur in the future. That is, the action will begin in the future and will continue for some time. |
|
| Future Perfect | I will have cleaned my room by evening. I will clean my room by evening. |
We say that the action will end at a certain point in the future, and we will get the result. | |
Formation of the Future Perfect tense in English
Sentences in the completed future tense are formed using:
- of the auxiliary verb have, which we putin the future tense, adding will to it. It turns out will have;
- verb in the past tense.
Verbs in the past tense
We put verbs in the Future Perfect in the past tense. There are regular and irregular verbs in English. Depending on the verb, this form is formed as follows:
- if the verb is correct, then we add the ending -ed to it: cook - cooked, finish - finished.
- if the verb is irregular, then we put it in the 3rd form: do - done, eat - eaten
There is no rule by which we can determine the correct or irregular verb in front of us. You can only find out by looking it up in a dictionary or memorizing it.
The same is true with forms of irregular verbs. You need to memorize them or look them up in the dictionary.
Scheme for forming an affirmative sentence in the Future Perfect (future perfect tense):
Actor + will have + regular verb ending -ed or 3rd form of irregular verb
| I | ||
| You | ||
| We | read | |
| They | will have | finished |
| She | cooked | |
| He | ||
| It |
I will have cleaned our home by the time you come.
I'll clean our house by the time you come.
She will have passed her exams by the end of summer.
She will take her exams by the end of the summer.
Complex sentences in the Future Perfect
If you are talking about an action that will be completed before some other action occurs in the future, then:
- in the first part we use the Future Perfect (future complete) - we are talking about an action that we will complete in the future
- in the second part of the sentence we use the present tense ( Present Simple) - we are talking about an action that will happen after.
Wherein the verb (action) in the part where we use the Present Simple will be in the initial form.
For example:
I will have read this article before you return.
I'll read this article before you come back.
If in the second part the character is he she it, we add ending -s to our verb (action):
They will have cooked dinner by the time she come s.
They will have dinner ready by the time she arrives.
Abbreviations
We can shorten will in such a sentence
will = "ll
For example:
They "ll have built a house by the winter.
They will build a house for winter.
Words used in the future completed tense
Very often in the Future Perfect tense we use the following expressions:
by...- To…
by the end of...- by the end…
by the time...- by the time when…
by then- by that time
before- before
when- When
She will have finished it by the end of month.
She will finish it by the end of the month.
They will have built this house by then.
They will have built this house by then.
We will have fixed it by Monday.
We'll have it fixed by Monday.
Negative sentences in the Future Perfect in English
To say that you will not complete an action by a certain point, we use negation.
To form a negative sentence in the future completed tense, we add the negative particle not to the auxiliary verb will.
Scheme of a negative sentence in the Future Perfect:
Actor + will + not + have + regular verb ending -ed or 3rd form of irregular verb
| I | |||
| You | |||
| We | read | ||
| They | will not | have | finished |
| She | cooked | ||
| He | |||
| It |
He will not have repaired a car by then.
He won't fix the car by then.
We will not have read an article by the time she calls.
We won't have read the article by the time she calls.
Reduction
We can shorten will and not like this:
will + not = won't
For example:
They won't have finished his work by evening.
He won't finish his work by evening.
Interrogative sentences in the Future Perfect in English
To ask whether something will be finished by a certain time, we put will first in the sentence.
Scheme of an interrogative sentence in the Future Perfect:
Will + actor + have + regular verb ending -ed or 3rd form of irregular verb
| I | |||
| you | |||
| we | read? | ||
| Will | they | have | finished? |
| she | cooked? | ||
| he | |||
| it |
Will they have painted the walls before we return?
Will they paint the walls before we get back?
Will she have watched the movie by then?
Will they have seen the film by then?
Answers to the question in Future Perfect
The answer to the question can be positive or negative.
We can also give:
- short answer
- full answer
Short positive answer in the future perfect tense contains the word yes, the actor and the auxiliary verb will have:
Will will have.
Will they do it by Friday? Yes.
Short negative answer starts with no, and to will we add the particle not.
Will won't have.
Will they do it by Friday? No.
Complete positive answer looks like an affirmative sentence, only at the very beginning we put yes.
Will they have done it by Friday? Yes, they will have done it by Friday .
Will they do it by Friday? Yes, they will do it by Friday.
Complete negative answer looks like a negative sentence, only at the very beginning we put no.
Will they have done it by Friday? No, they won't have done it by Friday .
Will they do it by Friday? No, they won't do it by Friday.
So, we have analyzed the Future Perfect tense. Let's practice making sentences in this tense.
Reinforcement task
Translate the following sentences into English:
1. He will buy a new car by then.
2. She won't prepare dinner before we arrive.
3. Will they finish this project by the end of the year?
4. He will paint this picture by Friday.
5. We will not translate the article by 5 o'clock.
6. Will you be back by the time we leave?
The future perfect continuous is the future tense for processes completed in the future. It describes an activity towards a future point, emphasizing its duration.
The pre-future continuous tense is formed from the future be + have been+ present participle. Pre-future-long-term denial - will/shall not/ won't /shan't.
He will be tired because he will have been exercising so hard – Hegets tired, That's whyWhatintenselyexercising
will/shall have been + -ing |
will sb have been doing sth | sb will have been doing sth | sb won't have been doing sth |
Values b future perfect continuous
future preprocesses
You will have been waiting for more than 2 hours when her plane finally arrives – Youyou'll waitarrivalherflightmore2 hours
They will have been talking for over an hour by the time Thomas arrives – KarrivalThomasTheythey'll talkmorehours
James will have been teaching at the university for more than a year by the time he leaves for Asia – KotimedepartureVAsiaJameswillteachVuniversitylongerof the year
How long will you have been studying when you graduate? - How manyYoumoreyou'll studybeforerelease?
Neighboring Times
As a result of the fusion of the future perfect and the future continuous, the future perfect continuous tense emphasizes both the effectiveness and duration of an activity. With verbs live, work, teach, feel You can use the pre-future and the future continuous equally. However, as a longer tense than the perfect tense, the pre-continuous avoids other static verbs. Therefore, this time is a dynamic version of the pre-future.
She’ll have been working here for 10 years soon – SoonshealreadyHow10 yearswill workHere
By 2010, I will have been living in San Francisco for 20 years – K2010 II'll liveVSan-Francisco20 years
They might be tired when you see them because they’ll have been working hard – Theyprobablyget tired, WhenYoutheiryou'll see, - after allTheywill workonwear
By the end of next month, she will have been teaching for 20 years – Kendnextmonthsshewillteach20 years
No, I will not have been living here that long – No, IHereSofor a long timeNotwilllive
Temporaryindication
conjunctions/prepositions
by, for, until/till, when
By the time they reach York, they will have been traveling for 4 hours – KarrivalVYorkTheywill pass4 hours
Jason will be tired when he gets home because he will have been jogging for over an hour – JasonwilltiredByreturnhome, That's whyWhatruns throughmorehours
You will only have been waiting for a few minutes when her plane arrives – Youyou'll waitherarrivalTotala coupleminutes
The mural will have been being painted by the famous artist for over 6 months by the time it is finished – Beforefinishingpaintingwillbe createdfamousartistmoresix months
By the year 2053, man will have been flying for 300 years – K2053 personwillflyalready300 years
The party will have been going for ages by the time we arrive – Kourarrivalpartywillgokisseternity
In just half an hour from now, we will have been working for 14 hours straight – Morehalf an hour- AndWelet's work it out14 hourscontract
I will have been working here for ten years next week – OnnextweekII'll work on itHere10 years
My father and I will have been breeding sheep for 20 years tomorrow – Tomorrow, my father and I will be breeding sheep for 20 years
English Joke
A young couple that had received many valuable wedding presents established their home in a suburb. One morning they received in the mail two tickets for a popular show in the city, with a single line:
"Guess who sent them."
The pair had much amusement in trying to identify the donor, but failed in the effort. They duly attended the theater, and had a delightful time. On their return home late at night, still trying to guess the identity of the unknown host, they found the house stripped of every article of value. And on the bare table in the dining-room was a piece of paper on which was written in the same hand as the enclosure with the tickets.
Long name, long formation formula and only one function in the language. If you have already guessed, we are talking about the Future Perfect Continuous or the Future Perfect Continuous and everything connected with it: rules of formation, cases of use, indicator words.
Name
In English there is more than one, or even two ways of expressing the future tense. But today we are not talking about this, or rather about one of the many means - about the temporary form of the Future Perfect Continuous. It is translated into Russian as Future Perfect Continuous Tense. The concept of Future is simple: it describes an event that will occur in the future. But what kind of action this is - helps to understand the aspect of Perfect Continuous (Perfect-long or Perfect Continuous).
Already from the name it becomes clear that it indicates that the action being described is a process that began and continued before another action or until a certain period of time. Combining these two components - time and aspect, we get the rule: the temporary form of Future Perfect Continuous means that we have before us an event that will occur before another future event and will last at this moment.
Rules and examples of Future Perfect Continuous tense
An explanation of when the Future Perfect Continuous is used and what it means will become clear with the help of sentences in English with translation:
Nextyear a famous scientist will have been studying animal habits for 10years- Next year it will be 10 years since the famous scientist studied the habits of animals.
When my sisters come home my mother will have been cleaning the flat for one hour- When my sisters come home, my mother will have already cleaned the room within an hour.
In all three examples we have extended actions: will have been studying, will have been taking part, will have been cleaning. The described events last for a certain period (for 10 years - for 10 years, for how many days - for how many days, for one hour - for one hour) and will last until a specific moment in the future (next year - in the next year, by that time - by this time).
However, they may stop during this period or continue further. The event can continue not only until the set time, but also until the intended action, as given in the third sentence: when my sisters come - when my sisters come.
Notice the words that describe a specific time in the future. They are Future Perfect Continuous time markers. You can add other indicator words to the same list: till/until - before, for 5 weeks - for five weeks, by the end of the hour/day/month/year - by the end of the hour/day/month /of the year.
Education
The long name of the time implies a long formula of formation. Indeed, it consists of several formulas combined into one. Will/Shall is an auxiliary verb of the future tense (Future). The construction of the Perfect aspect is a combination of the auxiliary verb have + 3rd form of the verb, and Continuous - be + verb + -ing. Their addition leads to the following construction: subjects + will/shall + have been + main verb + -ing. The table shows how it “works” in practice in affirmative, negative and interrogative sentences:
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Subjects + will/shall + have been + verb + -ing |
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Singular |
Plural |
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I shall (will) have been cleaning - I will clean You will have been cleaning - You will clean He (she, it) will have been cleaning - He (she, it) will clean |
We shall (will) have been cleaning - We will clean You will have been cleaning - You will clean They will have been cleaning - They will clean |
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Subjects + will/shall + not + have been + verb + -ing |
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I shall (will) not have been cleaning - I won’t clean You will not have been cleaning - You will not clean He (she, it) will not have been cleaning - He (she, it) will not clean |
We shall (will) not have been cleaning - We will not clean You will not have been cleaning - You will not clean They will not have been cleaning - They will not clean |
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Will/shall + subjects + have been + verb + -ing? |
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Shall I have been cleaning? - Will I clean up? Will you have been cleaning? -Are you going to clean up? Will he (she, it) have been cleaning? - Will he (she, it) clean up? |
Shall we have been cleaning? - Are we going to clean up? Will you have been cleaning? - Will you clean up? Will they have been cleaning? - Will they clean up? |
According to the classical rule of the English language for the first person singular and plural, the auxiliary verb of the future tense is shall (I/ We shall). But modern language simplifies existing orders and therefore using will instead of shall is not a mistake.
What have we learned?
Today we answered a number of questions about the Future Perfect Continuous tense: when it is used, grammatical formula, negative and interrogative construction, basic indicator words.
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