Introduction
Future perfect continuous is the tense used to talk about a continuous action that will be completed at some point in the future. It is often used with time expressions.
Form
Future perfect continuous has these three forms: affirmative, negative and interrogative.
Affirmative
Its structure, in the affirmative form, is:
Subject + will + have + been + [verb + -ing] + …
| SUBJECT | FUTURE SIMPLE | AUXILIARY VERB | BEEN | PRESENT PARTICIPLE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I/You/He/She/It/We/You/They | will | have | been | walking |
Negative
Its full structure, in the negative form, is:
Subject + will not + have + been + [verb + -ing] + …
Negative short form is won’t:
Subject + won’t + have + been + [verb + -ing] + …
| SUBJECT | FUTURE SIMPLE + NOT | AUXILIARY VERB | BEEN | PRESENT PARTICIPLE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I/You/He/She/It/We/You/They | will not/ won’t |
have | been | walking |
Interrogative
Its structure, in the interrogative form, is:
Will + Subject + have + been + [verb + -ing] + …?
| FUTURE SIMPLE | SUBJECT | AUXILIARY VERB | BEEN | PRESENT PARTICIPLE | QUESTION MARK |
| Will | I/You/He/She/It/We/You/They | have | been | walking | …? |
Example
- I won’t have been investing in architecture by the end of 2020.
- The company will have been already trading for 2 weeks after the new manager’s arrival.
- After the new manager arrival, the company still won’t have been trading.
- Will the company have been trading for 2 weeks after the new manager arrival?
- They will have been negotiating for 3 years this summer.
Use
We use future perfect continuous to talk about a continuous action that will be completed at some point in the future.
We can use time expressions such as for two minutes, for 5 years, since Saturday…
We can also use future perfect continuous to show the relation of cause and effect.
Summary
We use future perfect continuous to talk about a continuous action that will be completed at some point in the future and to show the relation of cause and effect.
We can use it in its different forms:
- affirmative: we start with the subject followed by will have been and a verb that ends with -ing;
- negative: we start with the subject followed by will not have been and a verb that ends with -ing;
- interrogative: we start with will followed by the subject followed by have been and the a verb that ends with -ing (the sentence ends with a question mark).
We can use time expressions such as: for 5 years, since Saturday…
For example:
— affirmative: “I will have been working with you for 3 years next week.”
— negative: “I will not have been working with you for 3 years next week.”
— interrogative: “Will I have been working with you for 3 years next week?”
We use the future perfect continuous because the action of working for 3 years will (or will not) be completed in the future, meaning next week.
♦ “I will be working next week.” = We use the future continuous because we assume that this event will be taking place in the future.
♦ “I will work next week.” = We use the future simple because we express a future intention.
Let’s revise this content within the {Form} section. Take a look at the {Example} section that shows its use within a context.