FUTURE PERFECT TENSE

Basic form

 Subject + WILL HAVE + Verb (past participle form)

Quick examples

• I will have graduated from university by May.
• Patrick will have lived in Hong Kong for 20 years by the next month.
• The train will have left by now.

We use the Future Perfect tense to talk about actions that will be finished before some point in the future. We also use this tense to express situations that will last for a specified period of time at a definite moment in the future. The last use is to express certainty that an action was completed.

USES

1. Completion before a specified point in the future
2. Actions or situations that will last in the future (for a specified time)
3. Certainty that an action was completed

Use 1: Completion before a specified point in the future

The first use of this tense is to talk about future actions that will be finished before some specified point in the future.

• Before they come, we will have cleaned up the house.
• John will have eaten the whole cake, by the time the birthday party starts!

Use 2: Duration in the Future

Another use of this tense is to talk about actions will last after a given point in the future.

• By the next year, I will have known Monica for 30 years.
• Patrick will have lived in Hong Kong for 20 years by 2012.

Common Time ExpressionsTime expressions that are commonly used with the Future Perfect:

• By
• By the time
• Before
• By tomorrow/7 o'clock/next month
• Until/till

Use 3: Certainty About the Near Past

The last use is to express conviction that something happened in the near past.

• The train will have left by now. We have to look for another way to get there. (I'm sure the train has left)
• The guests will have arrived at the hotel by now. (I'm sure the guests have arrived at the hotel)