Language Practice

Upper-intermediate

Grammar reference    Intermediate 08 The consumer society

Future continuous and future perfect
There are a number of ways to talk about events in the future. Two of
them are the future continuous and the future perfect.

Future continuous
We form the future continuous with will + be + -ing.
This time tomorrow I’ll be flying to New York.
We use the future continuous to talk about an action that is in progress
at a certain time or over a period of time in the future.
I hope I won’t be living here in five years’ time.
I expect I will be doing the same job five years from now.

Future perfect
We form the future perfect with will + have + past participle.
This time next month, I will have lived here for four years.
We use the future perfect to talk about an action completed by a certain
time in the future.
Will you have finished that book by the end of this week?
Oh no, I won’t have finished this report in time for the meeting.

Future perfect continuous

We can also use the future perfect continuous, although this is not
common. The form is will + have been + -ing.
In September, I’ll have been working here for a year.

Future time phrases

We often use the future continuous and the future perfect with phrases
that specify a time in the future, such as this time tomorrow, this time
next week, this time next month, by August, by the end of the year, by
2030, in a week’s time, in six months’ time, in ten years’ time, an hour
from now, a week from now, twenty years from now.
This time next week, I’ll have finished all my exams.
By the end of the century, humans will be living on the moon.
In ten years’ time, I’ll have got married and had three kids.
A week from now, we’ll be lying on the beach.