Practice
Future perfect continuous: forms and examples
By next June, Mara will have been working at the clinic for five years. The sentence looks forward to June and then looks back at the time her work has continued.
Use will have been plus an -ing form to describe an action's duration before a stated future time.
Read and practice
Read the examples and try the written questions in this guide. Listening recordings are not available for this lesson yet.
Try the written questions
By noon, we will have been waiting for two hours. /baɪ nuːn wi wɪl həv bɪn ˈweɪtɪŋ fər tuː ˈaʊərz/
The short answer
Use will have been plus an -ing verb for an activity that will be in progress for a period before a future time. Add the future point and, when useful, the duration.
By 8:00, we will have been waiting for an hour.
Why it works: The waiting started before 8:00 and continues until that future time. For an hour tells us why the duration matters.
5 more examples
-
By December, I will have been studying Spanish for two years.
The sentence measures the duration of studying at a future point.
Not this:By December, I
will have completedtwo Spanish courses. What changes: This version counts completed courses instead of describing an ongoing activity. -
When the guests arrive, the chef will have been cooking since dawn.
Cooking begins before the guests arrive and continues toward their arrival.
Not this:When the guests arrive, the chef
will have prepareddinner. What changes: Prepared presents dinner as a completed result by the arrival time. -
Next week, they will have been living in the new apartment for a month.
For a month gives the duration measured next week.
Not this:Next week, they
will have movedinto the new apartment. What changes: Moving in is a completed event, not an activity measured over time. -
By the end of the shift, the volunteers will have been sorting donations for six hours.
Sorting is shown as an activity that continues through the future end point.
Not this:By the end of the shift, the volunteers
will have sortedthe donations. What changes: This version focuses on the finished task rather than the hours spent doing it. -
In July, our neighbors will have been traveling around Canada for three weeks.
The trip is in progress at the future time, and the phrase for three weeks gives its length.
Not this:In July, our neighbors
will have traveledaround Canada. What changes: This shorter form can describe a completed travel experience, without measuring its duration.
Read the full guide
Start with the future point. If you want to say how long an activity will have continued by then, use will have been plus the -ing form. The action may continue after that point, but the sentence focuses on the stretch of time before it. Compare By Friday, I will have finished the report with By Friday, I will have been writing the report for three days. The first sentence stresses completion. The second stresses the ongoing work and its length.
Measure an activity at a future point
Pick the future time first. Then ask whether you want to measure an activity that will already have continued up to that time. If you do, the future perfect continuous is a good fit.
By midnight, the train will have been traveling for ten hours.
Midnight is the future measurement point. The journey is the activity whose duration is ten hours.
Which idea matters in this sentence: the train's completed arrival or the length of its journey before midnight?
The length of the journey matters, so will have been traveling is the useful form.
Build the form step by step
The form has three fixed parts before the main verb: will, have been, and an -ing form. Will does not change for I, you, she, or they. Put not after will for a negative sentence.
She will have been practicing the piano for six months by April.
Will shows the future. Have been plus practicing makes the activity continuous.
They will not have been waiting long when the doors open.
The negative form is will not have been plus the -ing verb.
Use for and since carefully
Use for to name a length of time, such as for three weeks or for an hour. Use since to name the beginning, such as since Monday or since 2024. Both phrases make the duration easy to see.
By Friday, I will have been preparing for the exam for three weeks.
For three weeks gives a period of time.
By Friday, I will have been preparing for the exam since the first class.
Since the first class gives the starting point.
Choose duration or completion
The future perfect and future perfect continuous can both refer to a time before the future. Choose the continuous form when the hours, weeks, or ongoing process matter. Choose the future perfect when you want the result to be finished by that time.
By 5:00, Lena will have been designing the poster for four hours.
The continuous form tells us about Lena's work over four hours.
By 5:00, Lena will have designed the poster.
The future perfect tells us that the poster should be complete.
Avoid state verbs in the continuous form
Many state verbs describe a condition rather than an activity. Know, own, believe, and understand usually do not take an -ing form in this tense. Use the future perfect with those verbs when you want to measure the time.
By October, I will have known my supervisor for a year.
Known describes a state, so will have known is more natural than will have been knowing.
Choose the natural form for a long friendship: will have known or will have been knowing?
Use will have known because know is usually a state verb.
Check the time line before you choose
Before you write, mark the future reference point and the earlier start of the activity. If the sentence needs the amount of time between them, use will have been plus an -ing form. If it only needs a future activity, another future form may be clearer.
When the course ends, we will have been meeting online for twelve weeks.
The course ending is the reference point, and the online meetings are measured over twelve weeks.
Does your sentence need to say how long the activity will have continued before a future time?
If yes, use will have been plus the -ing form and add the future point.
Before you go
Remember this
Choose will have been plus an -ing form when you need an ongoing action and its duration before a future time. Use for for a period, since for a starting point, and a future phrase to show where you measure the action. Choose the future perfect when the completed result matters more than the activity's length.
Practice with the written examples
You can practice with the written questions in the Learn tab. Each answer includes an explanation.
Try the written questionsListening test not available yet
This lesson does not have the recordings needed for a listening test. Use the written questions in the guide to check your understanding.
Try the written questionsQuestions about "Future perfect continuous: forms and examples"
When do I use the future perfect continuous?
Use it when an activity will continue up to a future time and you want to show its duration. Build it with will have been and an -ing verb. A phrase such as by Friday or when the class ends gives the future reference point.
By December, I will have been studying Spanish for two years.
What is the difference between future perfect and future perfect continuous?
The future perfect usually emphasizes a completed result by a future time. The future perfect continuous emphasizes the activity and the time spent doing it. Compare a finished task with an ongoing process measured in hours, days, or weeks.
By December, I will have completed two Spanish courses.
Can I use for and since with this tense?
Yes. Use for with a length of time, such as for three weeks. Use since with a starting point, such as since Monday. These phrases help show the period that will have passed before the future reference time.
When the guests arrive, the chef will have been cooking since dawn.
Can I make the future perfect continuous negative?
Yes. Put not after will: will not have been working. In conversation, people often use the contraction won't: won't have been working. The main verb still uses the -ing form after have been.
When the guests arrive, the chef will have prepared dinner.
Why do state verbs usually avoid this tense?
State verbs such as know, own, and believe usually describe conditions rather than activities in progress. When you measure a future duration with those verbs, the future perfect is often more natural, as in will have known rather than will have been knowing.
Next week, they will have been living in the new apartment for a month.