Grammar › Future Perfect Continuous
Future Perfect Continuous: positive sentences
610 fill-in-the-gap exercises, 61 tests of ten
Will have been for every subject, then the verb with -ing.
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The pattern
Four words in a fixed order, then the -ing form. Nothing varies with the subject.
The short form drops will onto the pronoun: I’ll have been, she’ll have been.
Both ingredients in one sentence
The deadline and the duration usually appear together, and they do different jobs:
By the time the season ends [deadline], he will have been playing for the club for fifteen years [duration].
for, not since, in most cases
For is the natural companion because it states a length:
By December we will have been waiting for eight months.
Since is possible but rarer, because it points backwards from now rather than measuring a stretch: …since March.
Anniversaries
The most common real use is counting up to a milestone:
Next spring the shop will have been trading for a hundred years.
All forms
| Subject | Full form | Short form |
|---|---|---|
| every subject | will have been working | I'll have been working |
Examples
Taken from the 610 sentences in this drill. The answer is highlighted.
- By the end of the day, he will have been working on his project for six hours.
- By next month, she will have been living here for two years.
- By the end of the month, we will have been studying together for a year.
- By tomorrow, she will have been playing the piano for six years.
- By the time we arrive, they will have been waiting for three hours.
- In a few months, he will have been learning French for two years.
- By the time I finish, he will have been reading the book for three hours.
- They will have been traveling for a week by the time they reach their destination.
- By the time you finish reading this article, I will have been writing another one for an hour.
- By next Sunday, she will have been staying at her friend's house for a week.
- By next year, he will have been completing this project for six months.
- By this time tomorrow, I will have been doing my homework for three hours.
Mistakes to avoid
Wrong: By May he will have been work here for a year. correct: By May he will have been working here for a year.
The main verb needs -ing.
Wrong: By May he will has been working here. correct: By May he will have been working here.
After will the form is have, never has.