The Future Perfect

The Future Perfect

1. Completed actions in the future

We use the future perfect to describe an action which will be completed in the future.

It is common to use by + a time reference: by January, by 2035, by next month, by the time you arrive.

I will have cleaned the whole house by the time your parents arrive.

We will have arrived by 4pm.

They will have built the bridge by next year.

2. With for

We often use ‘for’ with the future continuous to talk about the duration of a future activity.

By next month, I will have lived here for two years.

They will have been married for 40 years by the end of this year.

3. Assumptions

We can use the future perfect to express assumptions about the past or the present.

As you will have heard, we will be changing office. (I am quite confident that you have heard it)

He will have woken up by now – it’s 10 o’clock.