English tense 10 of 12: The Future Perfect Progressive - CISL English Language Schools, California

This month we continue our 12-part series on all of the tenses in the English language with the Future Perfect Progressive.

Also called the Future Perfect Continuous, this tense has two forms:

[will have been + present participle]

[am/is/are + going to have been + present participle]

Examples:

We will have been waiting for more than three hours when the show finally starts.
Will you have been waiting for more than three hours when the show finally starts?
You will not have been waiting for more than three hours when the show finally starts.
You are going to have been waiting for more than three hours when the show finally starts.
Are you going to have been waiting for more than three hours when the show finally starts?
You are not going to have been waiting for more than three hours when the show finally starts.

There are several uses of the Present Perfect Continuous.

Use 1: A relationship between two events (how long one event will be going until it meets another one)

They will have been studying for over three hours by the time the shop closes.
She is going to have been working at that company for ten years when she turns 40.
James will have been learning about archaeology for five years before his trip to Egypt.
How long will you have been practicing for the CAE exam when you take it?
We are going to have been walking for ten miles by the time we get to the beach!
When you get your dog, will you have been waiting for him for more than two months?

Use 2: A relationship between two events (one event causes the other)

I might be tired when I get home because I will have been working for over eight hours without a break.
My Italian will be really good when I return from Italy because I am going to have been studying Italian (in Italy!) for over one year.

Practice!

To practice this tense, answer the following questions. Ask your CISL teacher to review your answers!

By the time you leave CISL, how long will you have been living in California?
How long will you have been studying English?
By the end of this year, how long will you have been working at your job?
By the end of this month, how long will you have been living in your place?

Note: Remember that this is a progressive tense, so you cannot use non-action verbs, like “know” or “have.” For a review of non-action verbs, check out our post on Action vs. Non-Action Verbs.

For review of our other tenses, make sure to go back and read these posts: