Future continuous and future perfect
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
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
Hello Peter,
You have said before that there are two tenses in English: present and past, no future tense. Then what are the future continuous and future perfect? Are they future time with continuous and perfect aspects?
I am really confused. Could you please clarify this?
Shetu Yogme
Hello Shetu Yogme,
Future perfect and future continuous are not true tenses. Rather, they are modal verbs followed by the infinitive. Remember that the infinitive in English can be marked for aspect (perfect and continuous) and voice (passive):
will eat [modal verb will + infinitive]
will be eaten [modal verb will + passive infinitive]
will be eating [modal verb will + continuous infinitive]
will have eaten [modal verb will + perfect infinitive]
will have been eating [modal verb will + perfect continuous infinitive]
You can see very clearly that will is a modal verb rather than a tense because it can be replaced by other modal verbs such as might, should or can't.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello again sir,
So, this page uses future continuous and future perfect as synonyms with "will + continuous infinitive" and "will + perfect infinitive" respectively, doesn't it?
If we don't have any future tense in English, then why this page uses terms Future Continuous and Future Perfect? These terms suggest that we are talking about Future Tense marked by continuous and perfect infinitives.
Shetu Yogme
Hello Shetu Yogme,
Sometimes terms are in common use which are not entirely accurate and 'future perfect' and 'future continuous' are examples of this. When creating the site and choosing terminology, we sometimes have to balance familiarity and accessibility with accuracy. In this case we chose to use these terms because they are familar to the majority of users, even if (with my grammarian hat on) I would say they are not entirely accurate.
The same point applies to other terms such as the various kinds of conditional (first, second, mixed etc) and the 'gerund'.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Some languages have future tense and some languages have future aspect instead.
Hello,
A: Did you go to the gym yesterday?
B: Yes, but I only did a light cardio session.
A: Last week you told me that you want to set a new PR (personal record) in bench press on Monday; I thought you would've done it.
A expected B to have done it, but they didn't set a new PR; instead, B had a light cardio session. Can "would've done" be used in this context?
Hello Tony_M,
Yes, that's fine. You could also express the same idea with were going to do it.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Thank you, Peter.
Hello,
The video "Jeremy Clarkson Why The Porsche 928?" is here 0:11.
Does "won't have eaten" mean "I suppose or presume she hasn't eaten" or does he mean "she won't have eaten by the time I arrive"?
Thank you