Future Perfect Tense is another tense form of the English language that expresses a completed action, but in the future tense. At first glance, this topic should cause a lot of difficulties for a Russian-speaking person. But it's actually quite simple. Future Perfect Tense simply specifies a future action. Future Perfect Tense Meaning

What is Future Perfect Tense?

Future Perfect Tense perfect tense) expresses an action or event that will be completed before a specified point in the future tense. The action expressed in the Future Perfect can be called “pre-future”, because it will already end by the specified moment.

As a rule, Future Perfect Tense is translated into Russian by a verb of the future perfect tense. Often during translation the adverb “already” is added.

The future perfect tense of the English language is extremely rarely used, as in colloquial speech, and when writing. It is usually replaced by a simpler tense form - Future Simple Tense. The tense form of the Future Perfect is used only when it is necessary to emphasize that the action will be completed at a specified moment in the future.

Future Perfect Tense Education Rules

Future Perfect Tense is formed using the auxiliary verb to have in the Future Simple Tense (will have/shall have) and the past participle of the semantic verb (Past Participle).

Past Participle is formed by adding the ending -ed to regular verbs. In the case of irregular verbs, you need to refer to the III form in the table irregular verbs.

Mean + will have/shall have + Past Participle …

To form an interrogative sentence it is necessary to make auxiliary will / shall come first before the subject, and leave the rest of the tense form (have and Past Participle) after the subject.

Will/ Shall + Mean + have + Past Participle …

Negative sentences are formed using the negative particle not, which is placed after the first auxiliary verb Will/ Shall. In colloquial speech they merge into one whole:

  • will not - won't
  • shall not - shan’t

Mean + will/shall + not + have + Past Participle …

Conjugation table for the verb to develop in Future Perfect Tense

Number Face Affirmative form Interrogative form Negative form
Unit h. 1
2
3
I shall/ will (I"ll) have developed

He/ She/ It will (he"ll/ she’ll) have developed
Shall/ Will I have developed?
Will you have developed?
Will he/ she/ it have developed?
I shall/ will not (shan"t/ won’t) have developed

He/ She/ It will not (won"t) have developed
Mn. h. 1
2
3
We shall/ will (we"ll) have developed
You will (you"ll) have developed
They will (they"ll) have developed
Shall/ Will we have developed?
Will you have developed?
Will they have developed?
We shall/ will not (shan"t/ won’t) have developed
You will not (won't) have developed
They will not (won't) have developed

Future Perfect Tense is used:

I. To express a future action that will be completed before a certain point in the future. This point can be indicated:

1. With such adverbial words that indicate the time by which the action will be completed:

  • by 2020 — by 2020
  • by that time - by that time
  • by the end of the week − by the end of the week
  • by Monday - by Monday
  • By the end of the week I shall have given up smoking - By the end of the week I will quit smoking
  • We will have left this countryside by the end of the year - We will leave the village by the end of this year
  • By Saturday she’ll have finished her project - By Saturday she will have finished her project

Example of using Future Perfect Tense

2. Another future action in the subordinate clause of time and condition expressed by a verb in the Present Simple Tense. It is assumed that by the time this action begins, the action in the main clause (expressed by a verb in the Future Perfect Tense) will have already ended. As a rule, with such unions as:

  • before − before
  • when - when
  • I’ll have seen you before you leave - I’ll see you before you leave
  • He’ll have left before I arrive at the station - He will leave before I arrive at the station
  • We’ll have repaired this refrigerator before you return - We will fix this refrigerator before you return

But in the subordinate clauses themselves, instead of Future Perfect Tense, Present Perfect Tense. Example:

  • I’ll buy you an ice-cream if you have done your lessons − I’ll buy you ice cream if you do your homework

3. This point can be understood from the context. Example:

  • 2 years! Everyone will have forgotten us! - 2 years! Everyone will already forget us!

II. To express a past intended action. In this case, the use of Future Perfect Tense is not associated with the future tense, it replaces the construction must + Perfect Infinitive. Such sentences are translated into Russian using the past tense with the words “probably” or “should be.” Examples:

  • They’ll have heard the news about my father’s new invention - They must have heard about my father’s new invention
  • The viewer will have noticed their positive attitude to any form of democracy - The viewer probably noticed their positive attitude towards any form of democracy

Although the Future Perfect Tense is very rare in English language, do not neglect studying it. Who knows, you may have to encounter him more than once.

Watch the following video lessons on the topic:

"Future Perfect Tense - Future Perfect Tense"

Hello my beloved readers.

What do you remember about Future Perfect time? Of course, it’s sad if the pain is not enough, but don’t despair. Today I will remind you of everything. This tense cannot be confused with anything - neither Simple nor Continuous. Because it's special. And I'll tell you why. Rules and examples await us, a couple useful exercises, and so many useful things that you won’t forget about this time again.

How is it formed

Let's start, perhaps, by finding out what the Future Perfect Tense looks like in a sentence. The procedure for its formation is very simple. See:

Subject + auxiliary verb will\shall + have + predicate in the 3rd form + object and circumstances.

Let's look at example sentences.

She will have read the book till the end of next week. - By the end of next week she will have finished reading the book.

They will have moved in by Wednesday evening. - They will be moving in by Wednesday evening.

We shall have repaired the car by the end of next week. - By the end of next week we will finish repairing the car.

And in the table you can see how a sentence can change depending on its affirmative, negative or interrogative form.

The negative form is formed by adding a particle not .

Well, to create a question, you just need to move the auxiliary verb will to the first place, leaving everything else in its place.

As I said, there is nothing complicated here. Now that we know what our time looks like, we can move on to practice.

When to use: beginner level

As with any time, Future Perfect has its own indicators, by which it is easy to calculate that this is exactly it.

He will have graduated from school by that time. - By this time he has already finished school.

  • Time is mainly used when we're talking about about an action that starts in the future and ends there.

She will have watched the movie by Saturday evening. - By Saturday evening she will have already watched the film.

They will have opened a brand new factory by the next month. - By next month they will have opened a completely new factory.

  • We can also use the Future Perfect when talking about a situation that continues until a certain time.

This time next week I shall have worked at this factory for 15 years. - At this time next week, I will have been working at this plant for 15 years.

This time tomorrow he will have traveled the world non-stop for 3 years. - Tomorrow at this time he will be traveling around the world non-stop for 3 years.

This time next January I shall have moved to another country. - This time next January I will move to another country.

When to use: Professional level

Using Future Perfect is not so easy when you reach high level knowledge of English.

  • For those who are far from new to this tense, it will be useful to know: sometimes the Future Perfect can act in the meaning of a modal phrase must have done, the translation of which can be defined as “must be\probably.”

You will have seen what happened to them. “You must have seen what happened to them.”

They will have moved to another city. - They must have moved to another city.

As you probably already guessed, this time does not have many functions. Therefore, it will not be difficult for you to remember it. But it will be extremely useful to consolidate what you have learned. Now you can test your knowledge. and what I have prepared for you. Go through them and share your results in the comments.

And if you have questions, write. I will be happy to answer them. And I will be glad to see the most determined ones among my blog subscribers. You will receive the latest and useful information from the world of English.

And that's all for me.

Until next time, my dear readers.

Affirmative form The Future Perfect is formed using the auxiliary verb to have in the simple future tense (Simple Future/Future Indefinite: shall/will have (shall for 1st singular and plural, will for all other singular and plural persons. ) and the past participle (Participle II) of the semantic verb.

shall have, will have + Participle II

I shall have written the letter. I will write a letter.
He will have written the letter. He will write a letter.

IN interrogative form auxiliary verbs shall/will are placed before the subject.

Shall I have written the letter? I will write a letter?
Will he have written the letter? Will he write a letter?

Shall I have cooked? Shall we have cooked?
Will you have cooked? Will you have cooked?
Will he / she / it have cooked? Will they have cooked?

Use

Future Perfect is used:

  • 1. To express an action that has already taken place and will be completed at a certain point in the future. This specific time in the future is indicated by expressions such as: by that time - by that time, by Monday - by Monday, by the end of the month (year, week) - by the end of the month (of the year, weeks).

I shall have read this book by the end of this week. I will read this book by the end of this week.
By the end of the year your little daughter will have broken all your cups. By the end of the year, your little daughter will break all your cups.
The head of the expedition thought, “By the end of the month we shall have spent all our supply of provisions. May be by that time some plane will have found us on this small island." The expedition leader thought: “By the end of the month we will have used up our entire food supply. Perhaps by this time some plane will find us on this small island.”

  • 2. To express an action that will be completed before another action begins in the future. This other action (in a subordinate clause) is expressed through Simple Present/Present Indefinite.

I hope you will have made up your mind when I come back.
I hope you come to some kind of solution when I get back.

Please note:

  • 1. To express a completed action in the future in subordinate clauses of time and condition after the conjunctions when - When,after- after., as soon as - as soon as, till - before, until - until, how (not) if - If Present Perfect is used instead of Future Perfect, and in main sentences Simple Future/Future Indefinite is usually used. When translated into Russian, the verbs of the main and subordinate clauses are translated into verbs in the future tense.

Didn't think, "What shall I tell him when (if) he has asked me about it?”
He thought, “What will I tell him when (if) he asks me about this?”

Many people think that Future Perfect(complete tense) belongs to the most difficult group of English tenses (Perfect), so it is not easy to master.

But this is not so, and now you will see everything for yourself.

This tense is used when you want to say that you will do something by a certain time in the future. For example: “I will lose weight by summer. She will have finished her report by Wednesday. We'll fix the car before dad comes."

As you can see, we say that in the future we will get a certain result in the future, so this is perfect - perfect tense.

Knowing this tense will significantly diversify your speech and make it richer.

In this article I will explain to you when to use the Future Perfect and how to correctly construct sentences in this tense.

From the article you will learn:

If you are not familiar with the times of the Perfect group, then I advise you to start with the following articles:

Rules for using the Future Perfect tense in English


When we use Future Perfect

1. We use the Future Perfect tense (future perfect/finished) when we say that we will finish something (get a result) by a certain point in time in the future.

For example: I will read this book by the weekend.

2. This tense can also be used to say that one action will end before another occurs.

For example: They will clean the apartment before their parents arrive.

As you can see, understanding the use of this time is very simple. Let's look at a clear example again.

For example, today you are thinking about writing a book, or maybe you have already started writing one. And you tell your friends that by the end of the year (a month, a week, etc.) you will write it. That is, you will have a finished result - a written book.

So that you do not confuse the Future Perfect tense with other future tenses, let's look at their differences.

Difference between Future Perfect, Future Simple and Future Continuous

All these 3 times are very easy to distinguish. Let's see how they differ.

Difference between Future Simple and Future Perfect

Future Simple is translated as "future simple".

We use it when we talk about an action that will happen in the future. Read more about this time.

Let's look at an example:

I will fly to New York.
I'll fly to New York.

In this sentence we are talking about action as fact that will happen in the future.

Now let's look at the sentence in the Future Perfect:

In this sentence you are saying that by a certain time in the future (Friday), the action will have ended and you will receive result- you will be in New York City.

Difference between Future Continuous and Future Perfect

Future Continuous is translated as "future continuous".

We use this tense when we want to emphasize duration of action. That is, the action will begin in the future and will last for some time. You can find out more about this time in this article.

Let's look at an example:

I will be flying to New York this time.
I will be flying to America at this time.

That is, we say that in the future we will board a plane and will be in the process of flying for some time.

Let's go back to our sentence in Future Perfect:

I will have flown to New York by Friday.
I'll be in New York by Friday.

You don’t care how long you will be in flight, that is, the duration/process of the action. Is important to you result- your landing and location in New York.

Tenses comparison table: Future Perfect, Future Simple and Future Continuous

Time Example What do we focus on?
Future Simple

I will clean my room.
I'll clean my room.

We talk about an action as a fact that will happen in the future.

Future Continuous

I will be cleaning my room for 2 hours.
I will clean my room for 2 hours.

We emphasize the duration of an action that will occur in the future. That is, the action will begin in the future and will continue for some time.

Future Perfect I will have cleaned my room by evening.
I will clean my room by evening.
We say that the action will end at a certain point in the future, and we will get the result.

Formation of the Future Perfect tense in English


Sentences in the completed future tense are formed using:

  • auxiliary verb have, which we putin the future tense, adding will to it. It turns out will have;
  • verb in the past tense.

Verbs in the past tense

We put verbs in the Future Perfect in the past tense. There are regular and irregular verbs in English. Depending on the verb, this form is formed as follows:

  • if the verb is correct, then we add the ending -ed to it: cook - cooked, finish - finished.
  • if the verb is irregular, then we put it in the 3rd form: do - done, eat - eaten

There is no rule by which one can determine whether it is correct or not. regular verb in front of us. You can only find out by looking it up in a dictionary or memorizing it.

The same is true with forms of irregular verbs. You need to memorize them or look them up in the dictionary.

Scheme for forming an affirmative sentence in the Future Perfect (future perfect tense):

Actor + will have + regular verb ending -ed or 3rd form of irregular verb

I
You
We read
They will have finished
She cooked
He
It

I will have cleaned our home by the time you come.
I'll clean our house by the time you come.

She will have passed her exams by the end of summer.
She will take her exams by the end of the summer.

Complex sentences in the Future Perfect

If you are talking about an action that will be completed before some other action occurs in the future, then:

  • in the first part we use the Future Perfect (future complete) - we are talking about an action that we will complete in the future
  • in the second part of the sentence we use the present tense ( Present Simple) - we are talking about an action that will happen after.

Wherein the verb (action) in the part where we use the Present Simple will be in the initial form.

For example:

I will have read this article before you return.
I'll read this article before you come back.

If in the second part the character is he she it, we add ending -s to our verb (action):

They will have cooked dinner by the time she come s.
They will have dinner ready by the time she arrives.

Abbreviations

We can shorten will in such a sentence

will = "ll

For example:

They "ll have built a house by the winter.
They will build a house for winter.

Words used in the future completed tense


Very often in the Future Perfect tense we use the following expressions:

by...- To…
by the end of...- by the end…
by the time...- by the time when…
by then- by that time
before- before
when- When

She will have finished it by the end of month.
She will finish it by the end of the month.

They will have built this house by then.
They will have built this house by then.

We will have fixed it by Monday.
We'll have it fixed by Monday.

Negative sentences in the Future Perfect in English

To say that you will not complete an action by a certain point, we use negation.

To form a negative sentence in the future completed tense, we add the negative particle not to the auxiliary verb will.

Scheme of a negative sentence in the Future Perfect:

Actor + will + not + have + regular verb ending -ed or 3rd form of irregular verb

I
You
We read
They will not have finished
She cooked
He
It

He will not have repaired a car by then.
He won't fix the car by then.

We will not have read an article by the time she calls.
We won't have read the article by the time she calls.

Reduction

We can shorten will and not like this:

will + not = won't

For example:

They won't have finished his work by evening.
He won't finish his work by evening.

Interrogative sentences in the Future Perfect in English

To ask whether something will be finished by a certain time, we put will first in the sentence.

Scheme of an interrogative sentence in the Future Perfect:

Will + actor + have + regular verb ending -ed or 3rd form of irregular verb

I
you
we read?
Will they have finished?
she cooked?
he
it

Will they have painted the walls before we return?
Will they paint the walls before we get back?

Will she have watched the movie by then?
Will they have seen the film by then?

Answers to the question in Future Perfect

The answer to the question can be positive or negative.

We can also give:

  • short answer
  • full answer

Short positive answer in the future perfect tense contains the word yes, the actor and the auxiliary verb will have:

Will will have.
Will they do it by Friday? Yes.

Short negative answer starts with no, and to will we add the particle not.

Will won't have.
Will they do it by Friday? No.

Complete positive answer looks like an affirmative sentence, only at the very beginning we put yes.

Will they have done it by Friday? Yes, they will have done it by Friday .
Will they do it by Friday? Yes, they will do it by Friday.

Complete negative answer looks like negative sentence, only at the very beginning we put no.

Will they have done it by Friday? No, they won't have done it by Friday .
Will they do it by Friday? No, they won't do it by Friday.

So, we have analyzed the Future Perfect tense. Let's practice making sentences in this tense.

Reinforcement task

Translate the following sentences into English:

1. He will buy new car by that time.
2. She won't prepare dinner before we arrive.
3. Will they finish this project by the end of the year?
4. He will paint this picture by Friday.
5. We will not translate the article by 5 o'clock.
6. Will you be back by the time we leave?