Future Continuous and

Future Perfect
Unit 7 - Grammar 2
What is the future continuous tense?
We use the future continuous tense to
describe an unfinished action taking
place in the future.

This action can begin in the future or it

can already be in progress in the present
and continue in the future.
Form
To form the future continuous we use will be or is/are going to be + the present
participle of the verb

Examples:

● I will be running 10 miles tomorrow.

● He is going to be leaving the company soon.

Just like the Future simple tense, use “will” for actions or events that are more
certain to happen and “going to be” for intended action or event.
When can we use it?
1. Add certainty to future plans.
2. Questioning what’s happening at a specific future time.
3. Make questions sound more polite
4. Add emphasis on long durations
5. Guesses/ Suppositions
1. Adding certainty to future plans
Amir Khan: I’m fighting tomorrow. Are you
going to watch it?

Fan: Sure, I’ll be watching.

- It’s like a promise when you use the

Future Continuous tense.
- No time reference in reply as it’s implied
from the use of it in the question.
2. Questioning what’s happening at a specific
future time. Peter Griffin: Tomorrow 5pm, are you
busy?

You: I won’t be doing anything.

● Avoid using Future Simple

○ I won’t do anything...
● What if you’re busy at that time?
○ “Tomorrow 5PM I’ll be working.”
What are you doing to be doing
this Saturday at 8 PM?
This Saturday at 8 PM I’ll be watching Leicester City destroy
Chelsea in the Premier League.
While you’re dancing, I’ll be sleeping.
OMG! I just booked a
holiday.

This time next week I’ll

be sunbathing and
reading on the beach.
3. Make questions sound more polite
● You want to know if Megan is coming to
dinner without sounding annoying.
○ … e.g. Are you bringing Megan to dinner?
■ Sounds rude
● Use Future Continuous to sound polite
○ Will you be bringing Megan to dinner?
3. Make questions sound more polite
Can also make statements sound more polite.

“I’ll be needing those documents finished by

the end of today.

● Writing it in Future Simple e.g. “I’ll need…”

sounds more direct
● Adding Future Continuous adds politeness to
request, statement, question.
3. Make questions sound more polite
Can also make statements and
requests sound more polite.

“Will you be wanting dinner later

tonight?.
4. Add emphasis on long durations
Your friend asks you if you want to do
something fun this weekend.

“I’m sorry but I’ll be working on my project all

week.”
5. Guesses/Suppositions
Hmmm...10 PM, she’ll probably be
sleeping now.

We are guessing (probably).

The future perfect tense
What is the Future Perfect Tense?

The future perfect is used to talk about a completed action before a date/action
in the future.
In other words, we have two future events that we are talking about. One
happens before the other that is the future perfect.
Often we include durations of time to indicate how long something has been
happening once a future moment in time is reached.
Timeline ● It could happen tomorrow.
It could occur in
December.
● Not concerned when it’s
going to happen in the
future.
● But we are concerned by
which point it is going to
happen.
NOW JAN. 23

By January 2023, I will have finished my Masters degree in Social Psychology.

By January 2023, I will have become a Grade 7 Pianist.
By January 2023, I will have spent a lot of money on necessary house repairs.
Forms - Affirmative
Subject + will have + Past Participle
Verb

● I will have eaten before she

comes home.
● Before they arrive, we will have
cleaned the house.
● The internet provider will have
fixed the internet issues by
tomorrow morning.
Forms - Negative
Negative: Subject + will not have
(won’t have) + Past Participle Verb

● Arsenal will not have succeeded

in the transfer market by
deadline day.
● I won’t have completed this book
before you go.
● We won’t have had the Covid
vaccine by December.
Interrogative sentences
We can ask whether an action will be complete in the future by inverting will with
the subject, as in:

● “Will they have read the instructions thoroughly ahead of starting the
formative assignment?”
● “Will you have had something to eat before you arrive?”
Interrogative sentences
We can also ask about specific aspects of a future action by using different
question words or phrases.

Remember, we will still invert will with the subject in this case:

● “What will we have learned from such tragic events as these?”

● “Who will have prepared the notes for the meeting with Teacher Jack?”
● “How much money will we have spent trying to get this car working?”
● “How long will you have worked there before your maternity leave begins?”