Understanding Future Perfect Progressive Tense (Definition and Examples)

What is the future perfect progressive tense? How are sentences formed using this verb tense? What are the grammar rules that govern this tense? These are all great questions, that you probably have. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll break down the meaning of this verb tense and how to use it.

What is the future perfect progressive tense? 

There are many types of verb tenses. The main three categories of tenses include the present, past, and future. Among these, there exist other sub-categories. These include simple, progressive, perfect, and perfect progressive.

Future perfect progressive tense (definition) 

We have the words ‘future’, ‘perfect’, and ‘progressive’ together. The future perfect progressive tense refers to an action still taking place (perfect progressive). However, it’s referring to something that will get completed soon. 

Sentences with this tense include two primary time expressions:

1. A time in the future 
2. Length of the activity 

Examples of future perfect progressive tense 

• They will have been repairing their house for five days this Friday. 

Here, “by Friday” refers to a specific time in the future, and “for three days” refers to the time of the activity. 

• Samantha will have been writing an essay for two hours by eight o’clock. 

Here, “by eight o’clock” refers to a specific time in the future, and “for two hours” refers to the time of the activity. 

• In August next year, you will have been studying medicine for a year. 

Here, “in August next year” refers to a specific time in the future, and “for a year” refers to the time of the activity. 

How does future perfect progressive tense work? 

The future perfect progressive tense is a complicated tense type. This is because it combines two English verb tenses. These are the future continuous tense and the future perfect tense. 

Future perfect continuous tense is used to refer to all actions that are ongoing but are yet to occur in the future. They will last only for a particular duration.

Grammar rules that govern future perfect progressive tense 

Follow the rules given below to know how to use the future perfect progressive tense – 

To show that there is a stipulated time till which the activity will continue in the future 

For example:

• Harry will have been teaching at St. John’s High School for nine years by the time he leaves for Spain. 

To refer to an action that has been completed just before another action or time in the future 

For example:

• I will be hungry when I reach home because I will have been playing football for 2 hours.

Time expressions used along with future perfect progressive tense 

The following is a list of time expressions that are commonly used with future perfect continuous tense: 

• Next month/year/week 
• For + an hour/ >1 hour, for 3 years 
• By + this week/month/year 
• Since morning/afternoon/evening, since 2000
• By then 
• By tomorrow

Differences between the other tenses 

The following will provide a clear idea of the difference between future perfect continuous tense and the other tenses – 

Verb: See 

Simple

Simple Present: see 

Simple Past: saw

Simple Future: will see

Progressive 

Present Progressive: am/is seeing 

Past Progressive: was/were seeing

Future Progressive: will be seeing

Perfect 

Present Perfect: has/have seen

Past Perfect: had seen

Future Perfect: will have seen

Perfect Progressive 

Present Perfect Progressive: has/have been seeing 

Past Perfect Progressive: had been seeing 

Future Perfect Progressive: will have been seeing 

Why don’t you try a similar list with the verb ‘eat’? 

Tense	Function	Rule	Example
Present simple	Helps to describe habits, facts, actions, and truth that are not affected by time	Ist form of verb + s/es	He loves pizza.
Past simple	Helps to describe events that have happened in the past	IInd form of the verb	She wore a beautiful dress for the party.
Future simple	Helps to describe events that will happen in the future	Will/ shall + Ist form	He will go to New York tomorrow.
Present perfect	Helps to describe the relevance of past events in the present moment	Has/ have + IIIrd form of the verb	I have learned to ride a bike.
Past perfect	Helps to describe events that happened prior to other events in the past	Had + IIIrd form of the verb	She had finished the paper before leaving the hall.
Future perfect	Helps to describe events that will be completed between now and a specific point in the future	Will/ have + IIIrd form of the verb	She will have finished the book by tomorrow.
Present continuous	Helps to describe ongoing actions	Is/ am/ are + Ist form + ing	She is reading a book.
Past continuous	Helps to describe ongoing events of the past, mostly in relation to another event	Was/ were + Ist form + ing	He was driving to work when the accident happened.
Future continuous	Helps to describe future events that will/are expected to continue for a period of time	Will be + Ist form + ing	I will be going to meet my grandparents tomorrow.
Present perfect continuous	Helps to describe events that started in the past and will continue into the present	Has/ have been + Ist form + ing	She has been writing a book for the past one year.
Past perfect continuous	Helps to describe events that began, continued, and ended in the past	Had been + Ist form + ing	I had been working in this company for ten years when I got the promotion.
Future perfect continuous	Helps to describe events that began in the past but will continue until a point in the future	Will/ shall have been + Ist form + ing	I will have been doing business with her for one year.

How to form the future perfect progressive tense 

Use the formulae given below to effectively and efficiently form this tense. 

Affirmative future perfect progressive tense 

[Subject] + “will have been” + [present participle] 

Example:

Sally will have been baking cookies for two hours by six o’clock. 

Forming future perfect progressive tense with a present participle 

First, form the present participle. This is done by adding an “-ing” to verbs.

Some common examples include the following:

• Eat – eating 
• Teach – teaching 

Now, use the formula for future perfect continuous, as stated above, to form the tense with a present participle. 

Sentence example:

By the end of the competition, I will have been dancing for 6 weeks. 

Forming negatives 

Negative future perfect progressive tense can be formed using the following formula. 

[Subject] + “will not have been” + [present participle]

Example:

I will not have been clicking photographs for 10 years by next month. 

Forming questions 

Question future perfect progressive tense can be formed using the following formula. 

“Will” + [subject] + “have been” + [present participle]

Example: 

Will I have been writing my novel for six months by next week?