The Future Perfect Tense

The Future Perfect tense is not often used in speech or writing. But we should know it because sometimes we may need this tense.

You remember that the Perfect tenses show us a definite result in a definite moment of time.

When speaking about the Future tense, we also may need something “Perfect” to describe a definite result at a definite point in the Future tense.

For example, you want to make a hard decision. You are not sure what it will be, but by this time tomorrow, you will have made your decision.

Here you are.

That’s the high time for us to use this rare grammar construction!

So you can see that sometimes we have to use this tense. I have a lot of examples in the other languages I study where the native speakers use similar constructions very often.

Maybe the English natives don’t like to speak too much about their definite future decisions. 

We make the Future Perfect tense from the future form of the verb “to be” – will, and the infinitive of the verb “to have” without “to”, after which we add the past participle of the main verb.

1) It is used to describe an action that will begin, and end before a definite moment in the future:

• I will have come home long before my letter arrives.
• They will have done only 1000 samples by the end of the month.

2) It is used to describe an action that will begin at a definite moment in the future, and will still go on at that moment:

• I will have been studying English for sixteen years by next month. Oh, big date!
• She will have been dancing for two hours by that time.

Find the homework for this lesson here.