By Tomorrow: Understanding the Future Perfect Tense

Published: 14 Dec 2024

“Have you ever thought about what you will have done by the time you finish school? The Future Perfect Tense helps us talk about all the exciting things we will have achieved by then.”

What is the Future Perfect Tense

The Future Perfect Tense is used to describe actions that will be completed before a specific time in the future. It shows that something will have happened or been done by a certain point in time.

Example:

By next year, I will have finished my homework.
She will have read five books by the end of the month.
They will have completed the project before the deadline.

Structure:

The structure of the Future Perfect Tense is:

Subject +will have +past participle of the verb.

Table of Content

How to Use It :

To talk about achievements or completed actions by a certain future time.
To make predictions about what will happen before a particular moment.

Key Points:

It emphasizes the completion of an action.
Often used with time expressions like “by next week,” “by the time,” or “by then.”

How to form the Future Perfect Tense

To form the Future Perfect Tense, you can follow this simple formula:

Formula:

Subject + will have + past participle (third form of the verb)

Let’s break it down:

Subject:

This is the person or thing doing the action (I, you, he, she, it, we, they).

Will have:

This part is the same for every subject.

Past participle:

This is the third form of the verb. For example:

Play → Played
Eat → Eaten
Write → Written

Examples:

I will have finished my homework by 8 PM.
She will have learned how to swim by summer.
We will have completed the project by Friday.

When Do We Use the Future Perfect Tense?

We use the Future Perfect Tense to discuss an action that will be completed before a specific time. It helps us imagine something that will be finished at a certain moment.

To show that something will be finished before a specific time:

By next year, I will have learned a new language.
(This means I will finish learning the language before next year.)

To show that something will be completed before another action in the future:

By the time you arrive, I will have cleaned the house.
(The house cleaning will be done before you arrive.)

To make predictions about things that will be done:

In a few hours, they will have completed the test.
(This means that after a few hours, the test will be finished.)

Using Time Expressions is a future-perfect Tense.

Time Expressions are essential in the Future Perfect Tense. They tell us when the action will be completed. Here are some common time expressions.

By
In
Before

By- This word is often used to show a specific point in time by which the action will be completed.

Example:

By Tomorrow (Before tomorrow arrives)

By Next week(Before Next week’s cover)

By 2025(Before the year 2025)

In –

This shows the amount of time after which something will be completed.

In two hours(after two hours from now)

In a few days(after a few days have passed)

Example:

I will have finished the book in two days.

They will have left in an hour.

Before-

This is used when we want to emphasize that something will happen before a certain event.

Before school starts(before the time when school begins)

Before the meeting(before the meeting happens)

Example:

He will have eaten breakfast before the bus arrives.

We will have to clean the room before our friends come over.

Examples of Future Perfect Tense

Here are a few more examples to help you understand how the Future Perfect Tense works:

By next Saturday, I will have visited my grandparents.
They will have completed their project by the time the teacher checks it.
The students will have finished their exams by 3 PM tomorrow.
By 2025, we will have lived in this house for ten years.
Before you arrive, I will have cleaned the room.

Negative Sentences in Future Perfect Tense

To make a negative sentence in Future Perfect Tense, simply add “not” after “will.” The structure becomes:

Subject + will not have + past participle

Here are a few examples:

She will not have finished her work by 5 PM.
They will not have arrived by the time the movie starts.

You can also use the contraction “won’t have”:

I won’t have completed the assignment by the deadline.

Questions in Future Perfect Tense

To ask a question in the Future Perfect Tense, you switch the order of “will” and the subject. The structure is:

Will + subject + have + past participle?

Examples:

Will you have finished your homework by dinner time?
Will they have arrived by tomorrow morning?
Will we have cleaned the house before the guests arrive?

Practice Exercises

Now it’s time to practice! Try completing these sentences using the Future Perfect Tense:

By the end of this year, I ___________ (learn) many new things.
They ___________ (complete) their tasks before the deadline.
We ___________ (finish) the painting by tomorrow afternoon.
By the time she gets home, he ___________ (cook) dinner.

Answers:

will have learned
will have completed
will have finished
will have cooked

Conclusion:

So guys, it’s time to wrap up. In this article, we’ve covered Future Perfect Tense in detail. I suggest you try using this tense by planning what you will have done at different points, like “By next year, I will have graduated” or “By the time I arrive, they will have left.”

This practice will make it easier to use the Future Perfect naturally. Begin using it now, and watch how your language skills improve.

FAQS:

Here are some frequently asked questions (FAQs) about the Future Perfect Tense to help clarify any doubts:

Q 1. What is the Future Perfect Tense?

The Future Perfect Tense describes an action that will be completed before a certain point in the future. It is used to talk about something that will happen and finish before another future event or time.

Q 2. How do you form the Future Perfect Tense?

The formula for the Future Perfect Tense is:

Subject + will have + past participle (main verb)

For example:

She will have finished her homework by 8 PM.

3. When do we use the Future Perfect Tense?

You use the Future Perfect Tense:

To talk about an action that will be completed before a specific future time.
To describe an action that will happen and finish before another future event.

For example:

By next month, I will have completed the course.

Q 4. What are some common time expressions used with the Future Perfect Tense?

Some common time expressions are:

By tomorrow
By next year
By the time (something happens)
Before (a certain time)

Examples:

By 10 PM, they will have cleaned the house.
Before you arrive, I will have cooked dinner.

Q 5. Can we use contractions in the Future Perfect Tense?

Yes, you can use contractions like:

“won’t have” for “will not have”

For example:

I won’t have finished my project by tomorrow morning.

Q 6. How do you make negative sentences in the Future Perfect Tense?

To make a negative sentence, add “not” after “will.”
The structure is:

Subject + will not have + past participle

Example:

He will not have completed his work by next week.

Q 7. How do you ask questions in the Future Perfect Tense?

To ask a question, change the order of “will” and the subject:

Will + subject + have + past participle?

Example:

Will you have finished your homework by dinner time?

Q 8. Can the Future Perfect Tense be used for actions that will continue?

No, the Future Perfect Tense is used only for actions that will be completed at a certain time in the future. If the action is still ongoing, use the Future Perfect Continuous Tense.

For example:

Future Perfect: By 5 PM, I will have finished reading the book. (Completed action)
Future Perfect Continuous: By 5 PM, I will have been reading for two hours. (Ongoing action)

Q 9. Is the Future Perfect Tense common in everyday conversation?

While the Future Perfect Tense is important, it’s not used as often in daily conversation as other tenses, like the Present or Past Simple. It’s more commonly used in writing or when planning future events with specific deadlines.

Q 10. What’s the difference between Future Perfect and Future Simple Tense?

The Future Simple Tense talks about actions that will happen in the future but doesn’t specify when they will be completed:

Example: I will eat dinner.

The Future Perfect Tense talks about actions that will be completed by a certain point in the future:

Example: By 7 PM, I will have eaten dinner.