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The English future perfect tense can be understood as
a combination of future time and the present perfect tense:
it shows an action or event that started in the past, is starting
or will start in the future and that will also be completed
at some future time.
The form of the future perfect tense has these parts:
will + have + the past participle
(third form of the verb)
Examples:
will have finished something
will have lived here
will have known each other
will have left
will have owned something
will have been
The future perfect tense is used as was outlined above:
the action or event started before now, is starting now,
or will start after now, but it will not be completed
until some point in the future.
Examples:
In December, 2001 Dave's ESL Cafe
will have been online for six years.
(It hasn't yet been online for six years.)
I hope that I will have finished this Hint
by 9:30 PM. (It isn't finished yet).
At 2:30 tomorrow afternoon, I will have
finished my third class. (My classes won't
begin until tomorrow morning and they
won't finish until tomorrow at 2:30 PM.)
In about five minutes, I will have thought
of at least five example sentences. (I'm
thinking of example sentences now, but
I still don't have five of them.)
In June, 2001, my niece will have been
married for two years. (She got married
in June, 1999. Her two-year anniversary
won't be until June, 2001.)
It's 8:45 PM now. By 9:30 PM, I hope that
I will have sent this Hint to Dave Sperling.
(I haven't sent it yet.)
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Special Notes:
| 1. |
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The form of the future perfect combines the forms
of the future with will and the present perfect:
will (or any modal verb) + simple form
have / has + past participle
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will |
+
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simple form
( = have) |
+
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past participle |
Because the first part of a future perfect verb
is a one-word modal auxiliary, the second
part is the simple (base) form of have: S-forms,
past forms, and -ing forms cannot be used.
Because the last two parts are like the present
perfect in form, the third part is always the
past participle.
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| 2. |
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The main verb (the past participle) shows the
end point of the action or event. In the first
example sentence above, "be online for six
years" will finish in December, 2001. In the last
example sentence above, I hope that "send this
Hint" will be finished at 9:30 PM. |
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