The Future Perfect Tense

The future perfect tense is only used in a few situations, but it's still good to know it. Here's how to make it.

Click here to download this explanation as a pdf.
Click here to learn about how to USE this tense.

The future perfect is made with the future simple of 'have' (will have) and the past participle. For regular past participles add 'ed' to the verb ('play' becomes 'played'). Click here to learn about irregular past participles.

Here's the positive:

By six pm tonight:

• I will have finished this book
• You will have studied the English tenses
• She will have cooked dinner
• He will have arrived
• We will have met Julie
• It will have stopped raining
• They will have left Japan

For the short form, we change will to 'll. But, when we are speaking, we also make 'have' shorter, so it sounds like I'll've finished (don't write this!). Here are some examples for you to listen to:

• I'll have finished this book
  
• You'll have studied the English tenses
  
• She'll have cooked dinner
  
• He'll have arrived
  
• We'll have met Julie
  
• It'll have stopped raining
  
• They'll have left Japan
  

Click here for an exercise about the positive future perfect.

Here's the negative:

By next week,

• I will not have finished this book
• You will not have studied the English tenses
• She will not have cooked dinner
• He will not have arrived
• We will not have met Julie
• It will not have stopped raining
• They will not have left Japan

Here's the short form. Listen to how I shorten 'have' when I'm speaking:

• I won't have finished this book
  
• You won't have studied the English tenses
  
• She won't have cooked dinner
  
• He won't have arrived
  
• We won't have met Julie
  
• It won't have stopped raining
  
• They won't have left Japan
  

To make the question, just put 'will' before the subject:

'Yes / no' questions:

By next year,

• will I have finished writing this book?
• will you have studied all the English verb tenses?
• will she have graduated?
• will he have got married?
• will it have got colder?
• will we have met your boyfriend?
• will they have left their jobs?

'Wh' questions:

• When will I have finished writing this book?
• Why will you have studied all the English verb tenses by tomorrow?
• When will she have been here three weeks?
• Why will he have got married before June?
• Why will it have got colder by May?
• How will we have met your boyfriend by tonight?
• When will they have left their jobs?

Here's an exercise about the question form.
Here's an exercise about the positive, negative and question forms.