Published at February 17, 2025

Course on the Future Perfect Continuous - TOEIC® Preparation

TOP-Students™

The future perfect continuous in English is used to talk about an action that will be ongoing for a certain duration and will continue until a specific moment in the future. This tense particularly emphasizes the continuity and duration of the action.

How to form the future perfect continuous?

The basic form of the future perfect is: will have been + Verb−ing

Here is a table summarizing how to form the future perfect continuous in English:

Form	Structure	Examples
Affirmative	Subject + will have been + V-ing	I will have been working here for ten years by next January. They will have been studying English for three hours by lunchtime. She will have been living in New York for a decade by 2030.
Negative	Subject + will not have been + V-ing (or contraction: won't)	I will not have been working here for ten years by 2025. He won't have been sleeping for very long by the time we arrive. They won't have been waiting for us because we didn't tell them we were coming.
Interrogative	Will + subject + have been + V-ing ?	Will you have been working here for a year by next month? Will she have been living in Australia for long by the end of the year? Will they have been studying for eight hours straight by this evening?
Interrogative with question word	Question word + will + subject + have been + V-ing ?	How long will you have been waiting by the time we get there? Where will she have been staying during her trip by next summer?

The future perfect continuous to talk about actions started before a specific moment in the future and still ongoing

This usage of the future perfect continuous is probably the most common. With the future perfect continuous, the emphasis is on the fact that the action will have already started before a certain point in the future and will be still ongoing at the indicated moment or until that moment.

By the time he retires, he will have been working in the same company for forty years.
By 10 p.m. tomorrow, they will have been driving for twelve hours.
By the end of this year, we will have been working on this project for six months.

The future perfect continuous to emphasize the duration or progression of an action until a given moment

The future perfect continuous is often used to emphasize the total duration during which an action will be ongoing, until a certain moment in the future. It answers questions like: "How long?" or "For how long?".

In October, I will have been living in this city for five years.
By next summer, we will have been practicing for the marathon for six months.
When she arrives, she will have been waiting for her friend for over an hour.

The future perfect continuous to make a comparison between two time points in the future

The future perfect continuous allows comparing the start of an action (often in the past or present) with its future state by emphasizing the duration between these two moments.

By the time you finish your degree, you will have been studying at university for six years.
By 3 p.m. tomorrow, I will have been waiting for your call for an hour.
By the time we leave for vacation, we will have been working non-stop for two months.

Typical time markers of the future perfect continuous

Certain time expressions are very often associated with the Future Perfect Continuous:

By + specific moment: By next year, by 2025, by next week, by the time we arrive, etc.
- By next year, I will have been studying English for five years.
- By 2025, she will have been running her business for a decade.
For + duration: For an hour, for three years, for a long time, etc.
- For a long time, they will have been discussing this topic without reaching any conclusion.
By the time + clause: By the time she leaves, by the time you finish, etc.
- By the time she leaves, we will have been talking for hours.
- By the time the movie starts, we will have been waiting in line for an hour.
Next, in, before + time reference (less frequent, but possible if the idea of duration is present):
- In six months' time, I will have been working here for two years.
- Before he turns 30, he will have been playing the piano for two decades.
- Next summer, we will have been traveling across Europe for eight weeks.

When not to use the Future Perfect Continuous?

Although the future perfect continuous is useful for expressing the duration of a future action, there are cases where it cannot be used:

With stative verbs (or state verbs)

Certain verbs describing a state, an emotion, or a perception (to know, to believe, to own, etc.) do not take the continuous form. In these cases, the future perfect simple is used instead.

By next year, I will have known her for a decade.
By next year, I will have been knowing her for a decade.

For more information, you can read our course on state verbs

When the focus is on the accomplishment or final result

If the intention is to emphasize that an action will be completed, and not its duration, the future perfect simple is more appropriate.

By 5 p.m., I will have finished writing my report.
By 5 p.m., I will have been writing my report for five hours.

Future perfect simple and future perfect continuous, which to choose?

The future perfect simple emphasizes that the action will be accomplished, completed, finalized.

By 2025, I will have finished my training.

The future perfect continuous emphasizes the duration of the action or the ongoing process until that future moment.

By 2025, I will have been training for four years.

Future continuous and future perfect continuous, which to choose?

The future continuous generally indicates that an action will be ongoing at a specific moment in the future, without necessarily emphasizing the total duration.

At 8 p.m. tomorrow, I will be having dinner.

The future perfect continuous indicates that an action will have lasted a certain time until a specific moment in the future.

By 8 p.m. tomorrow, I will have been having dinner for an hour.

Conclusion

The future perfect continuous is used to talk about actions that will have lasted until a specific moment in the future. It emphasizes the continuity and duration of the action.

Although it is less common, it remains very useful for expressing ideas of progression or time span. Additionally, it is quite common to see TOEIC® questions that contain a form of the future perfect continuous.

There are other forms of the future that you must also master, here are the courses on other forms of the future: