Tenses are the basic elements of grammar that we use to form sentences. The three main tenses are past tense, present tense, future tense. They basically help us provide information regarding the time of an action. It can be anytime in the past, present, or future.
But it does not sum up there. There are several other aspects within each tense that talk about the time of occurrence in different contexts. The future perfect continuous tense is one such aspect of the future tense. In a general sense, the future perfect continuous tense talks about actions that will be occurring in the future. Something that will occur and keep occurring for a while.
There are various rules and forms of this tense that are commonly used. Let us discuss all of them below to have a better idea.
What is future perfect continuous tense?
By definition, Future Perfect Continuous tense is an aspect of the future that tells us about an action that will happen in the future and continue for a certain period. It has a continuous perspective. This means it talks about activities that will occur and become an ongoing act till a particular point in the future.
Due to the ongoing nature, this tense is also known as the future perfect progressive tense.
Form
The form of the future perfect continuous tense is simple and straightforward.
The formula basically consists of four main elements. The first three concern the use of auxiliary verbs. This means the future perfect continuous tense has three auxiliary verbs, the first is will, the second is have, and the third is the verb be. The first two verbs are used invariably, but the last one is transformed into its past form, been. So, the phrase “will have been” remains constant.
After that, the main verb follows. The main verb is used in its present participle form. This means the root form is added with –ing. So, the structure consists of the “will have been” followed by the present participle.
Let us look at some examples now.
- In December, I will have been working in my house.
- We will have been playing together by next week.
Furthermore, the future perfect continuous tense is also used to form negative and question sentences.
For the negative sentence, we need to add not after the first auxiliary verb will. The rest remains the same.
For example;
- They will not have been waiting long.
- I will not have been traveling to Delhi for years by the end of November.
And for question sentences, we need to exchange the first auxiliary verb will with the subject.
For example;
- Will you have been working in the cafe for three months?
Uses
Let us now quickly have a view of the common uses.
- To express something that will continue for a certain period in the future.
- To indicate an action that finished just before another time action.
So, these are the basic forms and rules that one needs to be aware of. They might seem complicated, but these points will definitely help.