Future Perfect and Future Perfect Progressive Aspect
Future Perfect and Future Perfect Progressive Aspect
Can you be sure of what will happen in the future? The truth is nobody can be so sure about the future. It is unknown to all of us. We can be sure about the things that happened in the past and the things that happen in the present.
You must have noticed that verbs are changed with pasts. In simple past tense, we use -ed with the base form of the verb, and in the present simple tense, we use the base form of the verb only. But there’s no way to change the verb in future time; there we don’t consider it a tense. In previous lessons, it is considered as a tense just for your understandability.
In this lesson, you are going to learn about the future perfect and perfect progressive aspect. Even though the future is not tense, but yet it is time and has aspects as well.
These aspects are rarely used in conversations, but yet they are essential to learn.
Future Perfect Aspect
The future perfect aspect is used to talk about events that will start in the future and have a definite end. It shows such actions that will have been finished at some point in the future.
We use time references such as by 2008, by May, by the 25th of this month, etc.
Structure
The formation of future perfect aspect is simple. It is formed by using will have + past participle form of the main verb. Mentioning time is important in such sentences.
Positive / Affirmative sentence
| Subject | Will have | Verb | Object | Time reference | Punctuation |
| Subject | Will have | 1st form + -ed | (optional) | By+ Time reference | Period (.) |
Example:
- She will have completed her homework by the time I reach home.
- He will have waited for 3 hours by the time we reach.
- I will have watched all of the Netflix series by this time next year.
Negative sentences
| Subject | Will +not+ have | Verb | Object | Time reference | Punctuation |
| Subject | Will +not + have | 1st form + -ed | (optional) | By+ Time reference | Period (.) |
Example:
- She will not have completed her homework by the time I reach home.
- He will not have waited for 3 hours by the time we reach.
- I will not have watched all of the Netflix series by this time next year.
Interrogative sentences
| Will | Subject | have | Verb | Object | Time reference | Punctuation |
| Will | Subject | have | 1st form + -ed | (optional) | By+ Time reference | Question mark (?) |
Example:
- Will she have completed her homework by the time I reach home?
- Will he have waited for 3 hours by the time we reach?
- Will I have watched all of the Netflix series by this time next year?
Future Perfect Progressive Aspect
Future perfect progressive, also known as future perfect continuous aspect, is a combination of two aspects: future perfect and future continuous aspect. It is used to express or describe those actions that start in the present and will be happening for some time in the future.
Like the future perfect aspect, we use time reference in this aspect, such as 40 minutes, since morning, 7 hours, etc.
Sentence structure in Future Perfect Progressive aspect
Future perfect progressive aspect is formed with: will +have+ been and present participle form of the main verb (base verb + -ing)
The exciting thing about the future perfect progressive aspect is that you will be using only action verbs in this aspect. Such that all of these verbs will be carrying some actions, not emotions. Because it would be awkward to say that “he will have been feeling sad for three years.” Therefore, future perfect progressive verbs are joint with verbs that express some action.
Positive / Affirmative sentences
| Subject | Auxiliary verb (to have) | Be verb | Main verb | Object | Time reference | Punctuation |
| Subject | Will have | Been | Verb+ -ing | optional | expressions | Period (.) |
Example:
- She will have been living in Australia for three years by then.
- By our 30th birthday, this tree will have been growing for 29 years.
- When my friends get married, I will have been painting professionally for over a year.
Negative sentences
| Subject | Auxiliary verb (to have) + not | Be verb | Main verb | Object | Time reference | Punctuation |
| Subject | Will not have | Been | Verb+ -ing | optional | expressions | Period (.) |
Example:
- She will not have been living in Australia for three years by then.
- By our 30th birthday, this tree will not have been growing for 29 years.
- When my friends get married, I will not have been painting professionally for over a year.
Interrogative sentences / Questions
| Subject | Auxiliary verb (to have) | Be verb | Main verb | Object | Time reference | Punctuation |
| Subject | Will have | Been | Verb+ -ing | optional | expressions | Period (.) |
Example:
- Will she have been living in Australia for three years by then?
- By our 30th birthday, will this tree have been growing for 29 years?
- When my friends get married, will I have been painting professionally for over a year?
Conclusion
Future perfect and future perfect progressive aspects are the least used aspects of future time, but they play an important role in English grammar. You need a little memorization for verbs that only action verbs are used in future perfect progressive aspect.