The future perfect tense is used to describe an event or action that will happen before a specific time in the future. The future perfect tense is formed by using “will have” followed by the past participle of the main verb.
For example, “I will have eaten dinner by 9 pm.” In the example, “eaten” is the past participle (third form) of the main verb “eat.”
We can use the future perfect tense to describe an action that will be completed before a specific future time or before another action in the future. There is a lot to know and learn about the future perfect tense. So, let’s explore all the fundamentals of this tense in detail.
What Is The Future Perfect Tense?
The future perfect tense is an advanced tense that we use to indicate the completion of an action in the future. That means this tense indicates that some work will be completed before a certain time in the future.
The focus of this tense is to point out when an action is expected to be completed. The completion time of the action must fall within a future time frame.
So, it’s about the end time of the action in the future, but what about the start time of that action?
Well, there may be one of these situations-
- The action started in the past and is going on now. It may continue in the future and complete before a specific time in the future.
- The action just started and is in progress at the present time or at the time of talking. But, it may still continue in the future and complete before a specific time in the future.
- The action will start in the future. It may continue for some time in the future and will be completed before the expected time.
Tense Chart In English Grammar
10 Examples Of Future Perfect Tense
- My team will have finished this project by the end of this month.
- I will have cleaned all the mess before my mom arrives.
- Jack will have returned from his Europe trip by Monday.
- Kids will have finished their homework before dinner.
- The shot of the new movie will have completed by next month.
- Alex will have reached her hometown by tomorrow morning.
- She will have finished writing her new book before winter.
- The flight will have taken off by the time we get to the airport.
- Next month, we will have been married for twenty years.
- Don’t come after 6 pm; the office will have closed by then.
Future Perfect Tense Rule
In the above sentences, we have used the combination of “will have” and the main verb in past participle form (V3). As per the future perfect tense Rule, you don’t have to decide for has or have. You can simply use “will have” with any “subject.”
| Subject | Auxiliary | Verb Form |
| I | Will have | Verb 3rd form |
| He/She/It | Will have | Verb 3rd form |
| We/You/They | Will have | Verb 3rd form |
Future Perfect Tense Structure
Now, let’s understand the future perfect tense structures we use to make four different types of sentences.
1. Affirmative Sentence Structure
Subject + Will have + V3 (past participle) + Object
The Future Perfect Tense Examples – Affirmative Sentences
- Olivia will have done this work by 7 pm.
- He will have read this book by this weekend.
- Susan will have left the city by tonight.
- She will have forgotten by tomorrow.
- We will have eaten dinner by 7 pm.
- They will have heard this news.
- Jack will have given his presentation.
- Her new dance video will have gone viral.
- The office clerk will have gone by 4 O’clock.
- I will have traveled to ten countries by 2025.
2. Negative Sentence Structure
Subject + will not + have + V3 (past participle) + Object
The Future Perfect Tense Examples – Negative Sentences
- Olivia will not have done this work by 7 pm.
- He will not have read this book by this weekend.
- Susan will not have left the city by tonight.
- She will not have forgotten by tomorrow.
- We will not have eaten dinner by 7 pm.
- They will not have heard this news.
- Jack will not have given his presentation.
- Her new dance video will not have gone viral.
- The office clerk will not have gone by 4 O’clock.
- I will not have traveled to ten countries by 2025.
3. Interrogative (Question) Sentence Structure
Will + subject + have + V3 (past participle) + Object?
The Future Perfect Tense Examples – Interrogative (Question) Sentences
- Will Olivia have done this work by 7 pm?
- Will he have read this book by this weekend?
- Will Susan have left the city by tonight?
- Will she have forgotten by tomorrow?
- Will we have eaten dinner by 7 pm?
- Will they have heard this news?
- Will Jack have given his presentation by evening?
- Will her new dance video have gone viral by tonight?
- Will the office clerk have gone by 4 O’clock?
- Will you have traveled to ten countries by 2025?
4. Interrogative Negative Sentence Structure
Will + subject + not have + V3 (past participle) + Object?
The Future Perfect Tense Examples – Interrogative Negative Sentences
- Will Olivia not have done this work by 7 pm?
- Will he not have read this book by this weekend?
- Will Susan not have left the city by tonight?
- Will she not have forgotten by tomorrow?
- Will we not have eaten dinner by 7 pm?
- Will they not have heard this news?
- Will Jack not have given his presentation by evening?
- Will her new dance video not have gone viral by tonight?
- Will the office clerk not have gone by 4 O’clock?
- Will you not have traveled to ten countries by 2025?
Uses of Future Perfect Tense
1. An action/event will be completed before a specific time in the future.
To talk about an action that will complete before a specific time in the future, we use the future perfect tense.
- By the next month, she will have finished writing her new novel.
- Our company will have found new investors by the end of this year.
- We will have bought a new house before next October.
2. An action that will complete before another action in the future.
If two actions are about to happen in the future, we use future perfect for the action that will finish first. And we use the simple present tense for the action that will finish later.
- My daughter will have finished her homework before I reach home.
- Before you reach, the meeting will have started.
- Don’t worry! Your daughter will have reached the station before the train starts.
3. With Common Expressions
We often use future perfect with common expressions such as
Before
By the time
By Sunday
By next month
By next year
By next winter
By next summer
By 8 pm
- By the time you get home, Mother will have taken her medicine and gone to bed.
- By 4:00 pm, all the students will have submitted their assignments.
- Next December, we will have lived in this house for 10 years.
Contraction With Future Perfect Tense
In informal situations, we use contraction with future perfect tense. Let’s understand how contraction works.
With Affirmative Sentence
For the affirmative sentences, we combine the subject (I, we, you, they, he, she, and it) and the helping verb “will” to make the contraction.
For example: “I will have traveled to ten countries by 2025” will become “I’ll have traveled to ten countries by 2025”. The subject “I” is combined with the helping verb “will” using the apostrophe symbol.
Similarly, the other sentences would be
- He’ll have read this book by this weekend.
- She’ll have forgotten by tomorrow.
- We’ll have eaten dinner by 7 pm.
- They’ll have heard this news.
With Negative Sentence
We can combine the helping verb “will” and “not” for the negative sentences. “Will not” becomes “won’t.”
Examples:
- Olivia won’t have done this work by 7 pm.
- He won’t have read this book by this weekend.
- Susan won’t have left the city by tonight.
- She won’t have forgotten by tomorrow.
- We won’t have eaten dinner by 7 pm.
- They won’t have heard this news.
- Jack won’t have given his presentation.
- Her new dance video won’t have gone viral.
- The office clerk won’t have gone by 4 O’clock.
- I won’t have traveled to ten countries by 2025.
With Negative Interrogative Sentences
For negative interrogative sentences, we can use the sentence structure: –
Won’t + subject + have + V3 (past participle) + Object?
- Won’t Olivia have done this work by 7 pm?
- Won’t he have read this book by this weekend?
- Won’t Susan have left the city by tonight?
- Won’t she have forgotten by tomorrow?
- Won’t we have eaten dinner by 7 pm?
- Won’t they have heard this news?
- Won’t Jack have given his presentation by evening?
- Won’t her new dance video have gone viral by tonight?
- Won’t the office clerk have gone by 4 O’clock?
- Won’t you have traveled to ten countries by 2025?
