Learning English

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USES OF FUTURE PERFECT CONTINUOUS

To describe an ongoing action that continues until or beyond a certain time in the future. 

• We’ve got an event coming up, so by midday on Friday, I will have been preparing the food for most of the morning.
• I won’t want to go to the gym in the afternoon because I will've been cycling all morning.

We often use it to really emphasise the duration of the action.

• He’s late again. At 6pm I will have been waiting for him for 2 hours.
• They'll've been travelling for five days by the time they reach their destination, so they'll be very tired. 

We can use it for actions that aren’t necessarily constantly in progression but are repeated most days.

• By the end of this year, I will have been working at this company for a decade.
• This time next year, she will've been studying mechanics for more than half her life. 

STRUCTURE 

For positive sentences, use ‘will have been' plus the main verb with ‘ing’. We usually contract the form with an apostrophe.

• I will have been walking > I'll have been walking > I'll've been walking
• You will have been walking > You'll have been walking > You'll've been walking
• He will have been walking > He'll have been walking > He'll've been walking
• She will have been walking > She'll have been walking > She'll've been walking 
• It will have been walking > It'll have been walking > It'll've been walking
• We will have been walking > We'll have been walking > We'll've been walking
• They will have been walking > They'll have been walking > They'll've been walking

For negative sentences, add ‘not’ after ‘will’.  We usually contract the form with an apostrophe.

• I will not have been walking > I won’t have been walking > I won’t've been walking
• You will not have been walking > You won’t have been walking > You won’t've been walking
• He will not have been walking > He won’t have been walking > He won’t've been walking
• She will not have been walking > She won’t have been walking > She won’t've been walking
• It will not have been walking > It won’t have been walking > It won’t've been walking
• We will not have been walking > We won’t have been walking > We won’t've been walking
• They will not have been walking > They won’t have been walking > They won’t've been walking

To ask yes/no questions, change the order of the sentence so that 'will’ is at the beginning.

• Will I have been walking?
• Yes, you will have
• No, you won't have 
• Will you have been walking?
• Yes, I will have
• No, I won't have 
• Will he have been walking?
• Yes, he will have
• No, he won't have
• Will she have been walking?
• Yes, she will have
• No, she won't have
• Will it have been walking?
• Yes, it will have
• No, it won't have
• Will we have been walking?
• Yes, we will have
• No, we won't have 
• Will they have been walking?
• Yes, they will have
• No, they won't have 

It’s also very common to begin a question with ‘How long…’ followed by these structures to ask about the duration of an action.

• How long will you have been studying English by the time you do the B2 exam?
  • I will've been studying English for 3 years.

To ask for more information, add the ‘who, what, where, why, how, when’ question words at the beginning.

• Why will I have been walking?
• Who will you have been walking with?
• Where will he have been walking?
• When will she have been walking?
• How will they have been walking?
• When will they have been walking?

To do

Practise by using the worksheet on this page, and watch other Tenses with Georgie videos.

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