Future Perfect Continuous Tense

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The English Tense System

The links below are to lessons for each of the 12 basic tenses.

In each lesson we look at two aspects of the tense:

• Structure: How do we make the tense?
• Use: When and why do we use the tense?

Some lessons look at additional aspects, and most of them finish with a quiz to check your understanding.

• Present Tense
• Present Continuous Tense
• Present Perfect Tense
• Present Perfect Continuous Tense
• Past Tense
• Past Continuous Tense
• Past Perfect Tense
• Past Perfect Continuous Tense
• Future Tense
• Future Continuous Tense
• Future Perfect Tense
• Future Perfect Continuous Tense

We use different tenses to describe the time that the verb refers to.

 

We use the future perfect continuous tense when we discuss things happening for a period of time and ending at a specific time in the future.

Forming Future Perfect Continuous with will:

 

Subject	Will	Have	Been	Main Verb (Present   Participle)	Rest of Sentence
I, you, he, she, it, we, they	will	have	been	driving	for ten hours when we finally arrive.

 

Forming Future Perfect with going to:

 

Subject	Present Tense “To Be” verb	Going To	Have	Been	Main Verb (Past Participle)	Rest of Sentence
I	am	going to	have	been	driving	for ten hours when we finally arrive.
You, we, they	are	going to	have	been	driving	for ten hours when we finally arrive.
He, she, it	is	going to	have	been	driving	for ten hours when we finally arrive.

 

There is no difference between “will” and “going to,” although “will” is usually more common.

Note: Stative Verbs

Some verbs, called “stative” or “non-continuous” verbs, can’t be used in continuous tenses. Others can be used in continuous tenses, but their meaning changes. Make sure you understand the difference between stative and non-stative (action) verbs while using future perfect continuous and all continuous tenses.  To talk about duration with stative verbs, use future perfect. You can find more information here.

Using the Future Perfect Continuous Tense

A Duration Before a Future Point in Time

Use this tense with action verbs to talk about something that started happening and continued to happen until a specific time in the future. Time clauses beginning with “by,” “by the time,” “when,” and “before” and using verbs in the simple present are often used to express the “specific future time.”

• By the time you arrive, I will have been cooking for seven hours.
• In 2019, I’m going to have been working as a teacher for four years.
• Jeremy and Paula will have been dating long-distance for 5 months when they finally meet face-to-face next week.
• I will have been going to college for six years by the time I finally have enough credits to graduate.

Reasons and Explanations in the Future

This tense is a good way to show cause and effect in the future.

• I can’t go out with you tomorrow night because I will have been working for ten hours and I’ll be too tired.
• The children will be sugar-crazy when the party is over because they are going to have been eating ice cream, cake, and candy all day.
• I will have been studying English intensely for four months in the exchange program when I take the TOEFL, so I’ll be able to get a good score.

Negative Statements

To make negative statements with the future perfect continuous:

add “not” before “going to”

add “not” after “will.” (the most common form is “won’t”)

• I won’t have been working for five years next month.
• Leslie won’t have been sleeping for long, so don’t wake her up when you come home.
• Luke and Mario aren’t going to have been studying, so they won’t do well on the test tomorrow.

Question Forms

Information Questions about the Subject:

To make a question about the subject of a sentence, use a question word as the subject. The form is:

 

question word + will + have + main verb (past participle) + rest of sentence

question word + “to be” verb + going to + have + main verb (past participle) + rest of sentence

• ???is going to have been watching television tomorrow. –>
• Who is going to have been watching television tomorrow?  
• ??? people will have been waiting for the train when it arrives. –>
• How many people will have been waiting for the train when it arrives?
• ???’s sister will have been teaching math for two years in April. –>
• Whose sister will have been teaching math for two years in April?

Questions about the Verb or Words after the Verb:

To make a yes/no question about the verb or words after the verb with the future perfect tense, put either the “will” or the “to be” verb before the subject:

Will + subject + be + main verb (present participle) + rest of sentence

“To be” verb + going to + main verb (present participle)  + rest of sentence

• Are you going to have been exercising at 5:00 am tomorrow?
• Will you have been working too much when the guests arrive?
• Will Sally have been traveling when you see her next month?
• Is she going to have been baking when I call her?

To make an open-ended question, put a question word (who, what, where, when, why, how) at the beginning of the sentence.

• Why are you going to have been exercising at 5:00 tomorrow?
• Why will you have been working too much when the guests arrive?
• Where will Sally have been travelling when you see her next month?
• What is she going to have been baking when I call her?

 

Are you ready to see how well you know the  Future Perfect continuous Tense ?

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Learn English tenses -Future Perfect Tense

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The English Tense System

The links below are to lessons for each of the 12 basic tenses.

In each lesson we look at two aspects of the tense:

• Structure: How do we make the tense?
• Use: When and why do we use the tense?

Some lessons look at additional aspects, and most of them finish with a quiz to check your understanding.

• Present Tense
• Present Continuous Tense
• Present Perfect Tense
• Present Perfect Continuous Tense
• Past Tense
• Past Continuous Tense
• Past Perfect Tense
• Past Perfect Continuous Tense
• Future Tense
• Future Continuous Tense
• Future Perfect Tense
• Future Perfect Continuous Tense

Tenses  

We use different tenses to describe the time that the verb refers to.

Future Perfect Uses 

The future perfect is complicated to form, but has one simple use: 
to view a completed action or event from a particular point in the future. The event described is incomplete (or has not started) in the present. 

He will have read the book by tomorrow. (But he has not read it now.) 

The future perfect is therefore used to describe something that will be complete at a certain 

point in the future. 

They will have learned everything by the end of the year. 

It should not be confused with the other future tenses, as it is the only future tense that tells us a verb will be complete. The simple tenses can show intent to finish, but the future perfect shows something will be finished at a certain time. 

I will finish my book tomorrow. (The action is planned to be completed at a 

future time.)

I will have finished my book tomorrow. (The action will be completed at a future time.)

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Learn English tenses -Future Continuous Tense

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The English Tense System

The links below are to lessons for each of the 12 basic tenses.

In each lesson we look at two aspects of the tense:

• Structure: How do we make the tense?
• Use: When and why do we use the tense?

Some lessons look at additional aspects, and most of them finish with a quiz to check your understanding.

• Present Tense
• Present Continuous Tense
• Present Perfect Tense
• Present Perfect Continuous Tense
• Past Tense
• Past Continuous Tense
• Past Perfect Tense
• Past Perfect Continuous Tense
• Future Tense
• Future Continuous Tense
• Future Perfect Tense
• Future Perfect Continuous Tense

 

 

We use different tenses to describe the time that the verb refers to.

We use the future continuous tense to talk about things that will happen over a period of time in the future.

Like simple future, we can use either “will” or “going to” with the future continuous tense, but unlike simple future, there is no difference in meaning.

Note: Like all continuous tenses, you can’t use them with stative verbs, or the stative forms of mixed verbs.

Forming Future Continuous with will:

 

Subject	Will	Be	Main Verb (Present   Participle)	Rest of Sentence
I, you, he, she, it, we, they	will	be	driving	at 10:00 pm tonight.

 

Forming Future Continuous with going to:

 

Subject	Present Tense “To Be” verb	Going To	Be	Main Verb (Present Participle)	Rest of Sentence
I	am	going to	be	driving	at 10:00 pm tonight.
You, we, they	are	going to	be	driving	at 10:00 pm tonight.
He, she, it	is	going to	be	driving	at 10:00 pm tonight.

 

Using the Future Continuous Tense

Future Events that Last a While

Use future continuous tense to talk about future events that happen over a period of time.

• When we go to Japan next summer, we will be staying with my aunt.
• I’ll be eating dinner with Janice tomorrow, so I can tell her you said, “Hello.”
• Marcel will be working in the office for the next three hours.  

Future Actions that are Interrupted by Something

Use future continuous tense to talk about future actions that are interrupted by another action (the interrupting action is in a present-tense time clause)

• I’ll be driving when you call.
• Justin is going to be waiting at the station when your train arrives.
• Alice will be getting out of soccer practice when you pick her up.

Sometimes, the “interrupting” action is just a specific time. In this case, the action started before the time mentioned, and continued after the time.

• Josh will be working at midnight.
• This time next year, I will be sitting on a beach in Australia.
• By next week, Tina will be teaching medical students.

Asking Politely about the Future

You can use the question form of the future continuous tense to ask a polite, formal question about the future. If you use future simple tense, the meaning would be the same, but it would be slightly more informal and less polite.

• Will you be bringing your husband to the office party?
• Will we be sharing a room at the hotel?
• Are you going to be taking your dog on the road trip?

Ongoing Events with “Still”

Use “still” with the future continuous tense to talk about an action that has started in the present, but is expected to continue into the future.

• At 8:00 pm, I will still be cleaning my house.
• Even if we stop all carbon emissions now, the earth will still be warming up for 20 years.
• I will still be trying to understand romance when I am 90 years old.

Negative Statements

To make negative statements with the future continuous:

add “not” before “going to”

add “not” after “will.” (the most common form is “won’t”)

• I am not going to be working after 5:00 pm.
• Oliver won’t be finishing his homework any time soon.
• Sophie and Charlotte are not going to be waiting when you finally arrive.

Question Forms

Information Questions about the Subject:

To make a question about the subject of a sentence, use a question word as the subject. The form is:

question word + will + be + main verb (present participle) + rest of sentence

question word + “to be” verb + going to + main verb (present participle) + rest of sentence

• ??? is going to be traveling to Taiwan next month. –>
• Who is going to be traveling to Taiwan next month?  
• ??? people will be riding on the bus. –>
• How many people will be riding on the bus?
• ???’s mother will be picking up the kids. –>
• Whose mother will be picking up the kids?

Questions about the Verb or Words after the Verb:

To make a yes/no question about the verb or words after the verb with the future continuous tense, put either the “will” or the “to be” verb before the subject:

Will + subject + be + main verb (present participle) + rest of sentence

“To be” verb + going to + main verb (present participle)  + rest of sentence

• Are you going to be working late tonight?
• Will you be driving home at 6:00?
• Will Ashley be waiting for me after school?
• Is she going to be eating Thanksgiving dinner with your parents?

To make an open-ended question, put a question word (who, what, where, when, why, how) at the beginning of the sentence.

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Learn English tenses -Future Tense

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The English Tense System

The links below are to lessons for each of the 12 basic tenses.

In each lesson we look at two aspects of the tense:

• Structure: How do we make the tense?
• Use: When and why do we use the tense?

Some lessons look at additional aspects, and most of them finish with a quiz to check your understanding.

• Present Tense
• Present Continuous Tense
• Present Perfect Tense
• Present Perfect Continuous Tense
• Past Tense
• Past Continuous Tense
• Past Perfect Tense
• Past Perfect Continuous Tense
• Future Tense
• Future Continuous Tense
• Future Perfect Tense
• Future Perfect Continuous Tense

Tenses  

We use different tenses to describe the time that the verb refers to.

There are many ways to talk about the future in English. “Will” and “going to” are both used to talk about events happening at specific times in the future, but they are often used to express different meanings. Sometimes, the simple present or present continuous tenses are used to talk about the future.

Will

To make the simple future with “will,” put “will” between a subject and the base form of a verb:

Subject	Will	Base Form of Verb	Rest of Sentence
I, you, he, she, it, they, we	will	go	to the movies.

Note: The contraction “’ll,” as in “I’ll,” “she’ll,” and “he’ll” is vastly more common in spoken English than saying “will.”  “Won’t” is the most common spoken form of “will not.”

Going To

To make the simple future with “going to,” put the subject, then a conjugated “to be” verb, then “going to” and the base form of a verb:

Subject	Present Tense “To Be” Verb	Going To	Base Form of Verb	Rest of Sentence
I	am	going to	leave	before the guests arrive.
he/she/it	is	going to	leave	before the guests arrive.
They, we, you	are	going to	leave	before the guests arrive.

Note: “Going to” is often pronounced like “gonna” in spoken English.

Will: Voluntary Actions, Promises, Requests, and Refusals

“Will” often expresses that an action will be done voluntarily in the future. It is also the most common way to ask someone to do something.

• I’ll go to the doctor with you, if you want.
• Will you help me with the laundry?
• Jamie will call you back tomorrow.
• I’ll give you the report in the morning, I swear!
• I will never forget what you did for me.
• Marian won’t need a swimsuit in Alaska.
• Will you give me a hand with the groceries?

Will: Unplanned Decisions for the Future

When you want to express that you just made a decision to do something, use “will.”

• Situation: The doorbell rings.
• Response: “I’ll get it!”
• Situation: A street vendor says that he’s selling flowers.
• Response: “I’ll take one!”
• Situation: Your roommate says you’re out of paper towels.
• Response: “I’ll get some when I go to the store today.”

Going To: Planned Future Events

Use “Going to” to express that an action will happen in the future has already been planned or intended.

• I’m going to take a trip to London this summer.
• Did you hear that Chris is going to get married?
• We’re going to play poker with our friends tonight.
• Are you going to finish that cake?

Going To: When Something is Just About to Happen

• Stand back! The bomb is going to explode!
• I’m going to be sick.
• If you don’t get in the car, I’m going to leave without you.

Will and Going to: Making Predictions

Sometimes, either “will” or “going to” can be used to make predictions about the future.

• The next president is going to be a woman.
• The next president will be a woman.
• The Orioles are going to win the World Series next year.
• The Orioles will win the world series next year.

It’s more common to use “will” than “going to” to make predictions based on belief about the future, rather than immediate, sensory evidence.

• I think he’ll make a great employee.
• You act like the world will end if you don’t get an A+.
• Humans will reach Mars within the next 100 years.

Use “going to” to make a future prediction based on signs and evidence in the present moment:

• Your parents are going to freak out when they see your tattoo.
• I feel sick. I think I’m going to throw up.
• The clouds have been gathering for hours. It’s going to rain soon.
• The score is 52-14. Our team is going to win!

Negative Statements

To make the negative with the simple future tenses:

add “not” before “going to”

add “not” after “will.” (the most common form is “won’t”)

• I am not going to be happy about this.
• She won’t come out of her room.
• They won’t be able to make it to the party.
• He is not going to drive anymore.

Question Forms

Information Questions about the Subject:

To make a question about the subject of a sentence, use a question word as the subject. The form is:

question word + will + main verb (base form) + rest of sentence

question word + “to be” verb + going to + main verb (base form) + rest of sentence

• ??? is going to travel to Mexico. –>
• Who is going to travel to Mexico?  
• ??? people will need better healthcare. –>
• How many people will need better healthcare?
• ???’s teacher is going to dye her hair blue. –>
• Whose teacher is going to dye her hair blue?

Questions about the Verb or Words after the Verb:

To make a yes/no question about the verb or words after the verb with the future simple tense, put either the “will” or the “to be” verb before the subject:

Will + subject + verb + rest of sentence

“To be” verb + subject + going to + verb + rest of sentence

• Are you going to go to a doctor?
• Will you promise me that you won’t lie to me again?
• Will Ashley help me with my research?
• Is she going to take the job in Spain?

To make an open-ended question, put a question word (who, what, where, when, why, how) at the beginning of the sentence.

• Why are you going to go to a doctor?
• When will you promise me that you won’t lie to me again?
• How will Ashley help me with my research?
• What is she going to do in Spain?

 

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Learn English tenses -Past Perfect Continuous Tense

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The English Tense System

The links below are to lessons for each of the 12 basic tenses.

In each lesson we look at two aspects of the tense:

• Structure: How do we make the tense?
• Use: When and why do we use the tense?

Some lessons look at additional aspects, and most of them finish with a quiz to check your understanding.

• Present Tense
• Present Continuous Tense
• Present Perfect Tense
• Present Perfect Continuous Tense
• Past Tense
• Past Continuous Tense
• Past Perfect Tense
• Past Perfect Continuous Tense
• Future Tense
• Future Continuous Tense
• Future Perfect Tense
• Future Perfect Continuous Tense

Tenses  

We use different tenses to describe the time that the verb refers to.

Past perfect continuous tense  

The past perfect continuous is formed with had been + –ing form: 

She had been battling against cancer for years before she died.  

The past perfect continuous tense is used most often to express that something started in the past and continued until another event in the past.  It can also be used for reasons and explanations for things in the past.

We form the past perfect continuous tense by using had, then been, then the main verb in present participle form.  

 

Subject	Had	Been	Verb   (present participle)	Rest of Sentence
I/you/we/they/he/she/it/Helen	had	been	driving	for six hours.

When to Use the Past Perfect Continuous Tense

An Action that Started in the Past and Continued until another Event or Time in the Past

Use the past perfect continuous to express that one action began and continued until another event (expressed in the past simple) in the past.

• I had been writing the essay for five hours before I noticed it was an optional assignment.
• The actors had been rehearsing since 8:00 am, and everyone wanted to take a break.
• By the time my boss told me to take a break, I had been working continuously for 17 hours.

Note: Words like “for” and “since” are often used to measure how long an action continued until the interrupting action.

To Give a Reason or Explanation for Something in the Past

• It had been snowing a lot, so driving was dangerous.
• Danielle was sweaty because she had been exercising.
• Justin had been baking cookies and was covered in flour.

Note: As with all continuous tenses, you can’t use stative verbs or the stative versions of mixed verbs. 

Negative Statements

The negative of past perfect continuous is very simple –- just add “not” between the “had” and the “been” before the present participle:

• Louise had not been drinking, so she offered to drive everyone home.
• The dog was sick, and had not been eating.  
• The children had not been playing, but they pretended to play when their mother came into the room.

Question Forms

Information Questions about the Subject

To make a question about the subject of a sentence, use a question word as the subject. the form is: question word + “had” + “been” + main verb (present participle) + rest of sentence:

• ??? had been driving the car when it hit the lamp post. –>
• Who had been driving the car when it hit the lamp post?  
• ??? people had been running in the marathon when the storm hit. –>
• How many people had been running in the marathon when the storm hit?
• ???’s cat had been scratching the chair to shreds until we declawed her. –>
• Whose cat had been scratching the chair to shreds until we declawed her?

Questions about the Verb or Words after the Verb

To make a yes/no question about the verb or words after the verb, put the “had” in front of the subject:

• Had you been listening to the radio to find out about the tornado?
• Had he been sleeping when I called?
• Had Alice been staying with you long?

To make an open-ended question about the verb or words after the verb, put a question word (who, what, where, when, why, how) before the “to be” verb in front of the subject:

• Where had you been listening to the radio?
• How long had he been sleeping when I called?
• Where had Alice been traveling when you met?

 

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Learn English tenses -Past Perfect Tense

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The English Tense System

The links below are to lessons for each of the 12 basic tenses.

In each lesson we look at two aspects of the tense:

• Structure: How do we make the tense?
• Use: When and why do we use the tense?

Some lessons look at additional aspects, and most of them finish with a quiz to check your understanding.

• Present Tense
• Present Continuous Tense
• Present Perfect Tense
• Present Perfect Continuous Tense
• Past Tense
• Past Continuous Tense
• Past Perfect Tense
• Past Perfect Continuous Tense
• Future Tense
• Future Continuous Tense
• Future Perfect Tense
• Future Perfect Continuous Tense

Tenses  

We use different tenses to describe the time that the verb refers to.

Past perfect tense  

The past perfect tense is formed with had + past participle. 

The past perfect tense is used most often to emphasize that one event happened before another event, and to show the relationship between them.   

We form the past perfect tense by using had, followed by the main verb in past participle form.  

 

Subject	Had	Verb   (past participle)	Rest of Sentence
I/you/we/they/he/she/it/Daniel	had	eaten	breakfast already.

When to Use the Past Perfect Tense

A Completed Action before Another Event/Time in the Past

Use the past perfect to express that one event began and ended before another event (expressed in the past simple) in the past. It usually indicates a relationship between these two events. It can also express that something happened before a specific time in the past.

• I had already been awake for an hour when the alarm clock went off.
• By the time Oliver showed up for Thanksgiving dinner, most of his family had finished dessert.
• Hector had studied Japanese for six years before he moved to Tokyo.

Note: Sometimes you hear that “Past perfect is used when one past event happens before another past event,” but this isn’t always true. When telling a story or giving details of a past event, it’s quite common to use only simple past if the sequence of events is clear from the context. See “The Simple Past” for more details.

To Give a Reason or Explanation for Something in the Past

• The librarian scowled at Ingrid because she had not paid her late fees.
• Olivia had forgotten to buy screws at the hardware store, so she couldn’t build the shelves for her bedroom.
• Ava went to the dance with Jimmy because he had asked her first.

With Stative Verbs, to Talk about Duration up to an Event in the Past.

Stative verbs are verbs relating to internal states that aren’t used in continuous forms. Some common ones are be, exist, love, want, prefer, believe, and see, but there are many others. You can read more about stative verbs here.

You can use the past perfect with stative verbs to talk about states that started in the past and continued until another past event, described by the simple past:

• Noah had been in school for six years when he graduated.
• Sarah had always believed her marriage was perfect until her husband told her he was having an affair.
• I had never wanted to own a dog, but when my roommate brought home a pug, I changed my mind.

To Talk About “Possibilities that Never Were” with the Third Conditional

The Third Conditional Tense is used to talk about past situations that might have been different if there had been different conditions. We use the past perfect tenses to talk about the these theoretical conditions, and present perfect tenses with a modal verb to describe the result that might have occurred.

• If I had studied harder in school, I might have become a doctor.
• If we had decided to go to Spain, we would have missed my sister’s wedding.
• If you hadn’t missed your flight, we would never have met each other.

Important Note: Specific Times with the Past Perfect.

Unlike the present perfect, you CAN use specific times with the past perfect:

• Melanie had won several karate competitions in high school before she switched to Judo in college.
• Joseph had studied computer science in 1981, before the Internet became popular.

Moreover, if the past perfect actions occurred at a specific time and words like “before,” “and then,” “later,” or “after” make it clear what action happened first, you can use simple past, too, and the meaning is the same:

• Melanie won several karate competitions in high school before she switched to Judo in college.
• Joseph studied computer science in 1981, before the Internet became popular.

However, if the action of the past perfect verb did not occur at a specific time, the past perfect is necessary.

• Incorrect: I never played chess before you showed me how.
• Correct:  I had never played chess before you showed me how.
• Incorrect: The play already started when we arrived at the theatre.
• Correct:  The play had already started when we arrived at the theatre.

Negative Statements

The negative of past continuous is very simple –- just add “not” between the “had” and the past participle:

• Zach had not driven the car before last night.
• I had not been in Seattle long when the rain started to drive me crazy.
• Paul had not needed an alarm clock until he got a job that started at 5:00 am.

Question Forms – Past Perfect Tense

Information Questions about the Subject:

To make a question about the subject of a sentence, use a question word as the subject. the form is: question word + “had” + main verb (past participle participle) + rest of sentence:

• ??? had known this already. –>
• Who had known this already?  
• ??? people had been trapped until the firemen came.–>
• How many people had been trapped until the firemen came?
• ???’s child had eaten all the birthday cake before the guests arrived.–>
• Whose child had eaten all the birthday cake before the guests arrived?

Questions about the Verb or Words after the Verb:

To make a yes/no question about the verb or words after the verb, put the “had” in front of the subject:

• Had you ever met her before that night?
• Had he always loved to solve puzzles?
• Had Grace baked the cake in time for the surprise party?

To make an open-ended question about the verb or words after the verb, put a question word (who, what, where, when, why, how) before the “to be” verb in front of the subject:

• When had you ever met before that night?
• Why had he always loved to solve puzzles?
• How had Grace baked the cake in time for the surprise party?

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