Future Perfect and Future Continuous
Lesson 1 of 4 · ~9 minutes

Lesson 1 · Future Perfect and Future Continuous

By 8 p.m., I will have finished

Future Perfect

The Future Perfect talks about something that will be finished before a certain moment in the future. The form is will have + the past participle (V3); the signal is by + a moment.

will have + V3

  • formI will have finished — will have + V3, the same for every person
  • byBy 8 p.m., I will have finished cooking — it will be done before that moment

Part

statement
negative
question

Form

will have + V3: I will have finished.
won't have + V3: I won't have finished.
Will + subject + have + V3?: Will you have finished?
Part
Form
statement
will have + V3: I will have finished.
negative
won't have + V3: I won't have finished.
question
Will + subject + have + V3?: Will you have finished?

By 8 p.m., I will have finished cooking dinner.

By next year, she will have graduated from university.

By the time you arrive, we will have left.

Will you have finished the report by Friday?

Where people usually slip

by means “no later than this moment”, not “at this moment”: By 8 p.m., I will have finished — dinner is ready by eight, not still in progress.

Don't confuse by with until: until means something continues up to that time, not that it's done by then.

In short

  • statementwill have + V3
  • negativewon't have + V3
  • byit will be finished before that moment
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