Tenses:
Comprehensive ELL Guide on Future Perfect Continuous (Progressive) Tenses
What is the future perfect continuous tense?
The future perfect continuous tense (sometimes called the future perfect progressive) is an English tense that is used to express anticipated or ongoing actions that continue further into the futue. Specifically, the tense expresses actions that are expected to continue until a specified time in the future.
Future Perfect
subject + will have + past participle
Future Perfect
Statements
- I will have run by then.
- She will have studied by Saturday.
- We will have played already.
- They will have been cleaned already.
Future Continuous
subject + will be + present participle
Future Continuous Statements
- I will be running when you get there.
- She will be studying while you are sleeping.
- We will be playing when you arrive.
- They will be cleaning the entire week.
Future Perfect Continuous
subject + will have been + present participle
Future Perfect Continuous Statements
- I will have been running on the track for an hour by then.
- She will have been studying for an hour by that time.
- We will have been playing for two hours by the time you wake up.
- They will have been cleaning a long while by the time we arrive.
When is the future perfect continuous tense commonly used?
The future perfect continuous tense is commonly used to express the duration or length of an action that will continue into the future.
Future Perfect Tense (Action will be completed)
- I will have studied by tomorrow.
- Jake will have practiced by Saturday.
- We will have read the book by class.
- They will have run the entire course by tomorrow.
Future Perfect Continuous (Action will continue)
- At one o’clock I will have been studying for seven hours.
- On Saturday he will have been practicing for one year.
- In 10 minutes, we will have been reading for one hour.
- At noon they will have been running for 5 hours.
What are examples of future perfect continuous questions?
Future perfect continuous questions are formed in the following manner:
will + subject + have been + present participle
Future Perfect Continuous Question
- Will you have been running for eight weeks by the day of the race?
- Will the boys have been working all day when I get to their house?
- Will Dustin have been painting for a year by the start of the advanced class?
Future Perfect Continuous Statement
- No , by the day of the race I will have been running for ten weeks.
- Yes, the boys will have been working all day when you get to their house.
- Yes, Dustin will have been painting for just over a year by the start of the advanced class.
What are good examples of the future perfect continuous tense?
More Examples of the Future Perfect Continuous tense.
- At three o’clock John will have been running for five hours.
- She will have been studying for an hour by then.
- In 10 minutes we will have been reading for one hour.
- Will you have been running for eight weeks by the day of the race?
- Will Dustin have been painting all day when the party begins?
- Will the boys have been working when I get to their house?
