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Future Perfect Continuous – Usage

The Future Perfect Continuous tense in English has two different forms: will have been doing and be going to have been doing. Unlike the forms of Simple Future, these forms of Future Perfect Continuou

The Future Perfect Continuous tense in English has two different forms: will have been doing and be going to have been doing.

Unlike the forms of Simple Future (Simple Future), those of Future Perfect Continuous are usually interchangeable.

Future Perfect Continuous with Will

Will have been + present participle

Examples:

  • You will have been waiting for more than two hours when her plane finally arrives.
  • Will you have been waiting for more than two hours when her plane finally arrives?
  • You will not have been waiting for more than two hours when her plane finally arrives.

Future Perfect Continuous with Be Going To

Am / is / are + going to have been + present participle

Examples:

  • You are going to have been waiting for more than two hours when her plane finally arrives.
  • Are you going to have been waiting for more than two hours when her plane finally arrives?
  • You are not going to have been waiting for more than two hours when her plane finally arrives.

Usage

A continuous action in the future that occurs before another action

The Future Perfect Continuous tense in English is used to express an action that will continue until a specific moment in the future. For five minutes, for two weeks and since Friday are continuous actions in the future that can be used in Future Perfect Continuous. The difference of Future Perfect Continuous from present and past is that the given action ends before or at the specified future moment.

For example:

  • They will have been talking for over an hour by the time Thomas arrives.
  • She is going to have been working at that company for three years when it finally closes.
  • James will have been teaching at the university for more than a year by the time he leaves for Asia.
  • How long will you have been studying when you graduate?
  • We are going to have been driving for over three days straight when we get to Anchorage.
  • A: When you finish your English course, will you have been living in New Zealand for over a year?
    B: No, I will not have been living here that long.

It is important to note that the future moment at which the action is performed (marked with italic in the above examples) is in Simple Present, not in Simple Future.

Reason for something in the future

Using Future Perfect Continuous before another action in the future is a good way to express cause and effect in English.

For example:

  • Jason will be tired when he gets home because he will have been jogging for over an hour.
  • Claudia's English will be perfect when she returns to Germany because she is going to have been studying English in the United States for over two years.

Future Continuous or Future Perfect Continuous

Future Continuous emphasizes interrupted actions, while Future Perfect Continuous emphasizes the duration of a future action that occurs before another.

For example:

  • He will be tired because he will be exercising so hard.
    This sentence emphasizes that he will be tired because he will be exercising at a specific future moment
  • He will be tired because he will have been exercising so hard.
    The sentence emphasizes that he will be tired because he will be training for a specific period of time

Future Perfect Continuous cannot be used with sentences beginning with time expressions such as: when, while, before, after, by the time, as soon as, if, unless and so on. Instead, Present Perfect Continuous is used.

For example:

  • You won't get a promotion until you will have been working here as long as Tim. Not Correct
  • You won't get a promotion until you have been working here as long as Tim. Correct

Adverbs

  • You will only have been waiting for a few minutes when her plane arrives.
  • Will you only have been waiting for a few minutes when her plane arrives?
  • You are only going to have been waiting for a few minutes when her plane arrives.
  • Are you only going to have been waiting for a few minutes when her plane arrives?

Active and Passive Voice

  • The famous artist will have been painting the mural for over six months by the time it is finished.
  • The mural will have been being painted by the famous artist for over six months by the time it is finished.
  • The famous artist is going to have been painting the mural for over six months by the time it is finished.
  • The mural is going to have been being painted by the famous artist for over six months by the time it is finished.

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