Future Perfect Continuous Tense

When we want to talk about an action that starts in the future and continues until a certain point in the future, we want to use the future perfect continuous tense. This tense consists of the words “will have been” and the verb’s present participle (when it ends in -ing).

How Do We Make The Future Perfect Continuous Tense?

Below you will find the structure of the future perfect continuous:

subject	+	auxiliary verb WILL	+	auxiliary verb HAVE	+	auxiliary verb BE	+	main verb
		invariable		invariable		past participle		present participle
		will		have		been		base + ing

In order to form a question using the future perfect continuous tense, we need to switch the subject and the auxiliary verb. In order to form negative sentences in this tense, we need to insert the word “not” between the words “will” and “have”. Study the following table:

	subject	auxiliary verb		auxiliary verb	main verb
+	They	will		have	been	shopping	all day.
+	He	will		have	been	studying	all weekend.
–	We	will	not	have	been	reading	a book.
–	She	will	not	have	been	taking	a nap.
?	Will (auxiliary verb)	they(subject)		have	been	married	for long?
?	Will (auxiliary verb)	she(subject)		have	been	drinking	coffee?

We commonly connect the subject and the auxiliary verb with a contraction when we talk or write.

I will	I’ll
you will	you’ll
he will	he’ll
she will	she’ll
it will	it’ll
we will	we’ll
they will	they’ll

To join the subject and auxiliary word together in a negative sentence using the future perfect continuous tense, you will need to use the contraction “won’t”. Take a look at the following table:

I will not	I won’t
you will not	you won’t
he will not	he won’t
she will not	she won’t
it will not	it won’t
we will not	we won’t
they will not	they won’t

Use Of Future Perfect Continuous Tense

We use the future perfect continuous tense when we want to discuss an activity that will happen before a specific time in the future. Look at the following examples:

You will have been an hour late if you stayed at dinner any longer.
I will have been studying for several hours before you arrive for our study session.