Future Perfect Continuous

When to use the future perfect continuous?

Use the future perfect continuous tense to talk about actions that will have been happening for a certain amount of time by a future date. Let’s have a look at the following future perfect continuous examples to understand the idea better:

Examples:

By 5:00 pm, I will have been working for 4 hours.

Explanation:

The sentence explains the progress of my work, which will have lasted for 4 hours by 5:00 pm.

How to use the future perfect continuous in sentences?

You need to follow this structure:

Subject + will + have + been + verb-ing

Let’s have a look at the following examples to learn more about creating sentences using the future perfect continuous:

Examples: 

By next month, she will have been working at this company for 3 years.

He will have been playing games for 2 hours by the time lunch gets ready.

By 8:00 pm, she will have been studying for 3 hours.

Explanations:

Each of the above examples explain the progress of the action which will have been happening for a particular time by a future date.

How to form questions using the future perfect continuous?

You need to follow this structure to create future perfect continuous tense sentences:

With a question word: 👉 (what, how long, where, why)

Question Word + will + subject + have + been + verb-ing + duration + future time?

Examples:

What will he have been doing by this time tomorrow?

How long will she have been working at this company by next month?

Where will you have been working for the last three years by next month?

Why will you have been studying for 3 hours by the time the exam starts?

Explanation:

You need provide a detailed answer when using (wh-questions)

Without a question word:

Examples: 

Will you have been working at this company for 3 years by next week?

Will they have been living in this house for 3 months by tomorrow?

Explanation:

You need to answer using (yes/ no).

How to form negative sentences using the future perfect continuous?

You need to add (not) after (will). Let’s have a look at the following rules to learn how to create negative sentences using the future perfect continuous:

Subject + will + not + have + been + verb-ing + duration + future time

Examples:

By 5:00 pm, he will not have been studying for 4 hours.

I will not have been working in this company for 2 years by next month.

By the time you arrive home, they will not have been traveling for 1 week.

*You can use the complete form (have not/ has not) or the contraction form (haven’t/ hasn’t), it depends on the person you speak with. Professionally and in formal settings, use the complete form. When speaking informally with family, friends, chatting, etc use the contraction form.

I hope you find this English grammar lesson useful, let me know if you have any questions related to the use of future perfect continuous or if you have any suggestions for the upcoming topics. Yesterday, I explained another English grammar topic here so feel free to check it 🙂 Also, if you need a private discussion or lessons, email me 🙂

Have a great day & take care!