Future continuous and future perfect

Do you know how to use phrases like I'll be studying or I'll have finished? Test what you know with interactive exercises and read the explanation to help you.

Look at these examples to see how the future continuous and future perfect are used.

In three years' time, I'll be studying medicine.
In five years' time, I'll have finished studying medicine.

Try this exercise to test your grammar.

Grammar test 1: Future continuous and future perfect: Grammar test 1

Read the explanation to learn more.

Grammar explanation

Future continuous

We can use the future continuous (will/won't be + -ing form) to talk about future actions that:

will be in progress at a specific time in the future:

When you come out of school tomorrow, I'll be boarding a plane.
Try to call before 8 o'clock. After that, we'll be watching the match.
You can visit us during the first week of July. I won't be working then.

we see as new, different or temporary:

Today we're taking the bus but next week we'll be taking the train.
He'll be staying with his parents for several months while his father is in recovery.
Will you be starting work earlier with your new job?

Future perfect

We use the future perfect simple (will/won't have + past participle) to talk about something that will be completed before a specific time in the future.

The guests are coming at 8 p.m. I'll have finished cooking by then.
On 9 October we'll have been married for 50 years.
Will you have gone to bed when I get back?

We can use phrases like by or by the time (meaning 'at some point before') and in or in a day's time / in two months' time / in five years' time etc. (meaning 'at the end of this period') to give the time period in which the action will be completed.

I won't have written all the reports by next week.
By the time we arrive, the kids will have gone to bed.
I'll have finished in an hour and then we can watch a film.
In three years' time, I'll have graduated from university.

Do this exercise to test your grammar again.

Grammar test 2: Future continuous and future perfect: Grammar test 2

Try another grammar lesson

Language level

B1 - Intermediate

B2 - Upper intermediate

Hello, I would like to know if this sentence contains a will perfect (future perfect), if so could you explain why the form in question is used. Thank you. His amateurish dud of a bomb will have worked after all.

Hello NinaZ,

It's hard to say for sure without knowing the context, but I would expect that the speaker is making a prediction about something in the future that will tell them that the bomb has exploded.

For example, the speaker might say something like this:

If we see a big cloud of smoke then his amateurish dud of a bomb will have...

The speaker is looking back from a point in the future (seeing the cloud of smoke) and supposing what happened before that (the bomb going off).

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Can you explain future continuous's 2nd point in more detail?

Hello itspb008,

Continuous forms often suggest an action has a temporary nature. For example:

I live in Edinburgh - this describes my home

I'm living in Edinburgh - this tells you my current situation and suggests it is not permanent

Continuous forms with modal verbs can have a similar meaning:

I'll live in Edinburgh.

I'll be living in Edinburgh

You can read more about the continuous aspect on this page:

https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/english-grammar-reference/continuous-aspect

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Hello. Could you please help me? Is the following sentence correct using the future perfect? Why? - By the year 2030, the internet will have been used by everyone. Thank you.

Hello Ahmed Imam,

Yes, that sentence is perfectly fine.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Hello again. So, what is the difference in meaning between the following two forms? - By the year 2030, the internet will have been used by everyone. - By the year 2030, the internet will be used by everyone. Thank you.

Hello Ahmed Imam,

The first sentence (will have been used) tells us that everyone will have used the Internet at least once before 2030, but not necessarily that they continue to use it.

The second sentence (will be used) tells us that everyone will be using it not just once but as part of their normal lives at some point before 2030.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Hello, I would like to know if it is possible to speak about an action that I will have done at a specific moment in the future, which I'm not sure about, by using the modal verbs may and might. I mean if I want to say that "in ten years time I may have made a fortune" is this sentence correct and understandable?