The future perfect continuous is a verb tense that describes actions that start in the past, present, or future and that will continue up until a point in the future. When describing an action in the future perfect continuous tense, we are projecting ourselves forward in time and looking back at the duration of that activity.
![](https://startyourenglish.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/future-perfect-continuous.png)
Forming Future Perfect Continuous sentences
The future perfect continuous is formed by using will + have + been + the verb’s present participle (verb root + -ing).
![](https://startyourenglish.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/future-perfect-continuosus-today.png)
![](https://startyourenglish.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/affirmative.png)
Contraction with Future Perfect Continuous
When we speak of write informally, we often contract the subject and WILL:
![](https://startyourenglish.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/contract-xxx.png)
- I’ll have been waiting here for five hours.
- He’ll have been watching TV for hours.
In negative sentences, we may contract with won’t:
![](https://startyourenglish.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/ggggg.png)
- He won’t have been driving, will he?
- They won’t have been waiting for long.
Using Future Perfect Continuous
USE 1 Duration Before Something in the Future
Future perfect continuous can be used to show that something will continue up until a particular event or time in the future.
Examples:
- He will have been working for over an hour by the time Elisa arrives.
- Casey will have been teaching at the university for more than five years by the time she leaves for Venezuela.
- How long will you have been studying when you graduate?
- They are going to have been driving for over two days when they get to Barcelona.
- When you finish your degree, will you have been living in South Africa for over a year?
USE 2 Cause of Something in the Future
We can use the future perfect continuous before another action in the future to show cause and effect.
Examples:
- Andrea will be tired when she gets home because she will have been running for more than an hour.
- Julia’s English will be perfect when she returns home because she is going to have been studying English in Australia for over two years.