The Future Perfect Continuous Tense represents a tense that is employed to express activities or occurrences that will carry on as long as a future stage. It is utilized as well to explain or suggest acts that started in the past and will keep happening until a given stage in the future. Whenever we explain something in the future perfect continuous tense, we have been searching ahead in time and back at how long that activity lasted. Only action verbs can be employed in the future perfect continuous tense, not stative verbs.

Table of Content

• What is the Future Perfect Continuous Tense?
• Definition of the Future Perfect Continuous Tense
• Future Perfect Continuous Tense Formula
• Structure of the Future Perfect Continuous Tense
• Wh-questions
• Negative Interrogative
• Rules for Future Perfect Continuous Tense
• Purpose of Future Perfect Continuous Tense
• Future Perfect Continuous Tense Examples
• Future Perfect Continuous Tense Exercise

What is the Future Perfect Continuous Tense?

The Future Perfect Continuous Tense can be employed to express acts that are going to continue for a particular period in the future. It is frequently employed to talk about the length of a task ahead of a specific time in the future or to explain the duration of an activity that will currently be in motion by a specific time in the future.

Definition of the Future Perfect Continuous Tense

As a tense type used “when we are looking back to the past from a point in the future, and we want to emphasise the length or duration of an activity or event,” the Future Perfect Continuous Tense is described by the Cambridge Dictionary.

Future Perfect Continuous Tense Formula

Here is the formula that you can use to structure a sentence in the future perfect continuous tense.

Structure of the Future Perfect Continuous Tense

The structure of the Future Perfect Continuous Tense for different types of sentences is listed below:

Affirmative:

Subject + Will / Shall + Have + Been + ing form of the verb + Object

Examples:

1. I will have been cleaning the house for two hours when you come back.
2. They shall have been playing full day.
3. I will have been starting my own business for ten years.
4. You shall have been taking a rest for two days.
5. I shall have been playing the piano in the concert of my college.

Negative:

Subject + Will / Shall +Not + Have + Been + ing form of the verb + Object

Examples:

1. Aradhana shall not have been going to the office since Tuesday.
2. He will not have been working with his teammates.
3. We shall not have been cleaning the garden for three days.
4. They will not have been living here for whole year.
5. We will not have been studying for the test tomorrow.

Interrogative:

Will / Shall + Subject + Have + Been + ing form of the verb + Object + ?

Examples:

1. Will you have been exploring the world outside?
2. Shall I have been sitting here since morning?
3. Will he have been going to his new school?
4. Shall they have been working here for twelve years?
5. Will she have been coming to this garden since childhood?

Wh-questions

Wh-word + Will / Shall + Subject + Have + Been + ing form of the verb + Object + ?

Examples:

1. Who will you have been eating with?
2. Where shall I have been staying for one week?
3. When will she have been delivering my parcel?
4. When shall they have been coming from Alaska?
5. Who will have been driving the car from Karnataka?

Negative Interrogative

Will / Shall + Subject + Not + Have + Been + ing form of the verb + Object + ?

Examples:

1. Will Saurabh not have been going to Varanasi for one month?
2. Shall we not have been preparing ourselves for the yoga classes?
3. Will Manju not have been coming with us for the holiday?
4. Will we not have been watching the new web series on Netflix?
5. Shall you not have been participating in the painting competition?

Rules for Future Perfect Continuous Tense

Subject + will / shall + have + been + ing form of the verb + object is the primary rule for the future perfect continuous tense. This is a general guideline that must be observed when employing the future perfect continuous tense. We put not after the assisting verb (will / shall) in negative phrases. To form interrogative phrases, we substitute will or shall for the subject and put the subject after it.

Purpose of Future Perfect Continuous Tense

The future perfect continuous tense can be used for the following reasons:

1. To refer to an activity or occurrence which will continue as long as an identifiable point during the time or a different occurrence in the future.
2. To illustrate a sequence of events that causes an additional action or incident to occur in the future.
3. For clarification or indicate activities that began in earlier times and will continue until a certain point in the future.

Future Perfect Continuous Tense Examples

1. Aradhya will have been coming here for eight years.
2. Will she not have been learning the rules of this school?
3. I will not have been drinking milk tonight.
4. We shall have been painting our house next year.
5. Ritika will not have been attending her class for one week.
6. Will Dev have been selling his car next month?
7. When will she have been coming to our house?
8. Charu will not have been getting a job for two years.
9. Who shall they have been buying the new decor?
10. I will have been completing my work for three hours.

Future Perfect Continuous Tense Exercise

Fill in the blanks with the future continuous tense from the bracket.

1. I ________ around the garden for one hour. (run)
2. They _________ their house to their Neighbours. (sell- negative)
3. Where ______ I ________ the students? (teach)
4. They_________ the clothes for their family function. (design)
5. He _________ his family business. (manage- negative)
6. Where _____ you _________ the kitten? (find)
7. You ___________ the garbage on the road. (throw- negative)
8. _____ she__________ in London for six years? (live)
9. When _______ you __________ your diet? (follow)
10. _____ we ___________ the new year cards? (make- negative)

Answers:

1. I will have been running around the garden for one hour.
2. They will not have been selling their house to their Neighbours.
3. Where shall I have been teaching the students?
4. They will have been designing the clothes for their family function.
5. He will not have been managing his family business.
6. Where will you have been finding the kitten?
7. You shall not have been throwing the garbage on the road.
8. Will she have been living in London for six years.
9. When will you have been following your diet?
10. Will we not have been making the new year cards?

Future Perfect Continuous Tense- FAQs