Future Perfect Continuous Tense | English Grammar

FUTURE PERFECT CONTINUOUS TENSE

Introduction to Future Perfect Continuous Tense

Future continuous tense describes an action that began either in the past or present and will continue to happen up until a point in the future. It is also known as future perfect progressive tense because the verb in the sentence shows progress or continuation.

The Future Perfect Continuous Tense shows the duration of an activity, from its beginning in the past or present till its completion in the future.

For example,

• Elizabeth will not have been shopping for six hours.
• I will have been looking for my ring for five hours after one hour.
• After five minutes, Jim will have been eating for thirty minutes.
• Elijah and Marcel will have been living together for a hundred years next year after they first met.
• Since the first hearing in the previous month, the court will have been resuming the case for the third time tomorrow.

In all the examples above, actions are being continued in the future after they have started in the past.

 Forming sentences in Future Perfect Continuous Tense

Before discussing the format of Future Continuous Tense, we shall discuss present participles, dynamic verbs and static verbs.

Present Participles

Present participles of verbs are formed by adding -ing with the base form of verb. For example,

• Cook becomes cooking
• Steal becomes stealing
• Talk becomes talking
• Snore becomes snoring

 Dynamic Verbs vs Stative Verbs

The term dynamic means in motion. The term static means still, unable to move. Dynamic verbs show an action or process, while stative verbs describe emotions.

 – Dynamic Verbs

Dynamic verbs show an action or process. We use the present participle form of dynamic verbs in continuous tenses. For example,

• After five minutes, Mustafa will have been dialling his number for an hour.
• After one day, Ciara and Linda will have been partying for three days.

 – Stative Verbs

Stative verbs describe emotions, thoughts, states and conditions. Stative verbs are used in simple and perfect tenses. They cannot be used in a continuous form.

For example, the following sentences are not grammatically correct.

• Alex and Paul will have been knowing each other for a decade after one year. (Wrong)
• Alex and Paul will have known each other for a decade after one year. (Right)

 In order to form sentences in future continuous tense, the following formats are followed.

How to form affirmative sentences in future perfect continuous tense?

To make affirmative sentences in future perfect continuous tense, we follow the following format.

Subject + will + have + been + Present Participle of verb + Object (if any)

For example,

• After an hour, John will have been surfing the area for six hours.
• Next month, Sarah will have been testing the new theories for five years.
• After fifteen minutes, we will have been singing songs in the choir for four hours.
• Felix and Kara will have been working together for seven months tomorrow.

How to form negative sentences in future perfect continuous tense?

To make negative sentences in future perfect continuous tense, we follow the following format.

Subject + will + not + have + been + Present Participle of verb + Object (if any)

For example,

• Elizabeth will not have been shopping for six hours.
• Ali will not have been studying hard for his exam since Sunday.
• I will not have been running around the park for the last 5 minutes.

How to ask questions in the future perfect continuous tense?

In order to ask questions in future perfect continuous tense, we follow the following format.

Will + subject + have + been + present participle of verb + object (if any)

For example,

• Will you have been riding the horse every day since last week?
• Will Joey have been eating sandwiches every day since last month?
• Will I have been dancing to this song for hours now?