Grammar
Future perfect tense: actions completed before a future time
A project has a deadline next Friday. If you say, "By Friday, I will have finished the report," you are looking forward from that deadline and seeing the report as complete.
Use will have plus a past participle to describe an action that will be complete before a stated future time or another future event.
Read and practice
Read the examples and try the written questions in this guide. Listening recordings are not available for this lesson yet.
Try the written questions
will have finished; will they have arrived? /wɪl həv ˈfɪn.ɪʃt/; /wɪl ðeɪ həv əˈraɪvd/
The short answer
Use the future perfect for something that will be finished before a future time or event. Make it with will have plus a past participle. Time phrases such as by Friday, by then, and by the time often show the deadline or later event.
By the end of the month, Priya will have saved enough for the course.
Why it works: The saving happens before the end of the month, and the sentence views the target as complete at that future point.
5 more examples
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By 8:30, the guests will have arrived at the restaurant.
The arrivals will be complete before the future time of 8:30.
Not this:The guests
will arriveat the restaurant at 8:30. What changes: This gives the arrival time itself, so the simple future states the planned event without showing an earlier completion. -
By next June, Luis will have worked here for five years.
Next June is the future viewpoint; the sentence measures a period that will reach five years by then.
Not this:Luis
will workhere next June. What changes: This only says that his work is expected in June. It does not express the five-year total. -
The shop will have closed before we reach the station.
Closing comes first, and reaching the station is the later future event.
Not this:The shop
will closewhen we reach the station. What changes: Here the two events are presented as happening at the same time, not in a completed-before order. -
Will Hana have submitted the form before the office closes?
The question asks whether submitting will be complete before the later closing time.
Not this:
Will Hana submitthe form at the office? What changes: This asks about the future action itself and gives no deadline relationship. -
We will not have chosen a hotel by tomorrow morning.
The negative predicts that the choice will still be unfinished at the future deadline.
Not this:We
will not choosea hotel tomorrow morning. What changes: This means the group does not plan to make the choice at that time. It does not say whether the choice is already complete.
Read the full guide
Find the future reference point first. It may be a clock time, a date, a deadline, or another event. Then ask whether the action will be complete before that point. If it will, the future perfect is a strong choice. If you only mean that something will happen in the future, the simple future may be enough.
Look forward from a future point
The future perfect needs two ideas: a future reference point and an action completed before it. The reference point can be a time, a date, or another future event. Start with that later point, then decide what will already be complete.
By midnight, the team will have sent the final files.
Midnight is the future viewpoint. The sending will happen earlier, so it is complete by that time.
Which phrase marks the later future point: will have sent or by midnight?
By midnight marks the future point. Will have sent describes the action that will be complete before it.
Build the form with will have
Use will have for every subject. Do not change will to match he, she, or it. After have, use the past participle. Compare will have completed with will have written. Written is the participle of write, while completed is a regular participle.
I will have checked the figures by lunchtime. They will have written the summary by then.
Both subjects use will have. The final word changes because checked and written are the participles of different verbs.
Choose the complete phrase: She ___ the tickets by Thursday.
Use will have booked: She will have booked the tickets by Thursday.
Use by for a future deadline
By commonly introduces the deadline in future-perfect sentences. By Friday means at or before Friday. By the time introduces a later event: By the time the film starts, we will have found our seats. In both patterns, the action is complete before the stated point.
By the time you call, I will have spoken to the manager.
The call is the later future event. Speaking to the manager will happen before the call.
By Friday, the mechanic will have repaired the car.
Do not confuse by Friday with on Friday. On Friday identifies the day of an event. By Friday sets a limit before or at that day.
Show the order of two future events
The future perfect is especially useful when both events are in the future but one must happen first. It can remove doubt about order. The action in the future perfect is earlier; the other event gives the later viewpoint.
The plane will have landed before the meeting begins.
Landing happens first. The meeting begins later, after the plane is already on the ground.
Once the guests arrive, we will have prepared everything.
In the second sentence, what will happen first: preparing or arriving?
Preparing happens first. Will have prepared shows that it will be complete when the guests arrive.
Make questions and negatives
Move will before the subject to make a question. Put not after will to make a negative. The words have and the past participle stay together after that. Use the same form with all subjects.
Will the courier have delivered the parcel by noon?
Will comes first because this is a question. Have delivered remains the future-perfect verb phrase.
The courier will not have delivered the parcel by noon.
Will not says that delivery is not expected to be complete at the deadline. In speech and informal writing, will not is often shortened to won't.
Choose the simple future when completion is not the point
Do not choose the future perfect only because a sentence has a future time phrase. Use will plus the base verb when you simply predict or plan an event at that time. Choose will have plus a participle when you need to show it is already complete by then.
The workshop will start at nine tomorrow.
Nine is the start time, so the simple future describes the event at that point.
By nine tomorrow, the organizers will have arranged the room.
Arranging the room happens before nine, so the future perfect shows a completed preparation.
If the sentence has no meaningful later point, the simple future is often clearer. Let the time relationship decide the tense.
Before you go
Remember this
Choose the future perfect when an action will be complete before a future deadline or event. Build it with will have and a past participle. Check the order: if the action comes first and the future reference point comes later, the future perfect can make that relationship clear.
Practice with the written examples
You can practice with the written questions in the Learn tab. Each answer includes an explanation.
Try the written questionsListening test not available yet
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Try the written questionsQuestions about "Future perfect tense: actions completed before a future time"
What is the future perfect tense used for?
Use the future perfect for an action that will be complete before a future time or event. By 8:30, the guests will have arrived at the restaurant shows that their arrival is expected to be complete at or before 8:30.
By 8:30, the guests will have arrived at the restaurant.
How do I form the future perfect?
Use will have followed by a past participle. The form stays the same with every subject: I will have checked, she will have checked, and they will have checked. Use irregular participles where needed, such as written, gone, or taken.
The guests will arrive at the restaurant at 8:30.
What is the difference between will arrive and will have arrived?
Will arrive states a future event at a stated time. Will have arrived shows that the event is already complete before a later future point. The guests will arrive at 8:30 names the arrival time, while by 8:30 the guests will have arrived gives a deadline.
By next June, Luis will have worked here for five years.
Can I use by the time with the future perfect?
Yes. By the time introduces a later future event, and the future perfect describes what will already be finished. The shop will have closed before we reach the station follows this order: closing first, then reaching the station.
Luis will work here next June.
How do I make a negative or question in the future perfect?
For a negative, put not after will: We will not have chosen a hotel by tomorrow morning. For a question, put will before the subject: Will Hana have submitted the form before the office closes? Keep have and the past participle in the verb phrase.
The shop will have closed before we reach the station.
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