Grammar › Future Perfect Continuous
Future Perfect Continuous: negative sentences
450 fill-in-the-gap exercises, 45 tests of ten
Not goes after will, in front of have been.
Practice this form
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The pattern
Not slots in after will, and the rest stays fixed:
They will not have been waiting. → They won’t have been waiting.
Saying the time will be short
The negative usually denies the length rather than the activity:
By Friday she won’t have been working here for long — only three weeks.
Reassurance
A characteristic use tells someone the wait will not have been bad:
Don’t worry, they won’t have been standing there more than ten minutes.
Checking the logic
As with the past version, the negative can flip the sense of a cause. He won’t be tired because he won’t have been driving works; he’ll be exhausted because he won’t have been sleeping also works, but the two need reading carefully. When in doubt, say the whole sentence aloud and check the reason produces the result.
All forms
| Subject | Full form | Short form |
|---|---|---|
| every subject | will not have been working | won't have been working |
Examples
Taken from the 450 sentences in this drill. The answer is highlighted.
- By the time they finish, we won't have been working for a long time.
- They won't have been living in that house for a month when they decide to move.
- By this time tomorrow, I won't have been living in this city for a month.
- We won't have been waiting for four hours by the time the movie ends.
- By next year, he won't have been studying English for five years.
- They will not have been preparing for the wedding for months when the date gets postponed.
- By the end of this year, they won't have been reading that book multiple times.
- In a week, he won't have been playing that game for a month.
- We won't have been traveling for two hours by the time they arrive.
- By the time she returns, we won't have been watching for this movie for two hours.
- By the end of next week, we won't have been completing all the work.
- By next year, she won't have been writing this book for ten years.
Mistakes to avoid
Wrong: She doesn't will have been working. correct: She won't have been working.
Will makes its own negative.
Wrong: He won't have been finished by then. correct: He won't have finished by then.
Finish is a completed action, so the plain Future Perfect is correct.