2Mar

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:

 

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by in Learning English