Future Perfect Continuous Tense: Examples, Definition, Use, Formula, Structure, Rules & Exercises for English Learners

Grammar and semantics are the fundamentals of any language. English language learners learn the syntax and structural rules first before moving on to language meaning and fluency. First, you learn about the different parts of speech such as nouns, adjectives, verbs, and so on. After acquiring competence in those areas, you begin creating sentences, which involves using verbs for the most part. The most important part of verbs proficiently is knowing how to use tenses.

Tenses are forms of verbs that define events, actions, and states at the time they occur.  This may include finished or unfinished actions and periods of time that may be denoted or specified. The 3 main tenses are Present, Past, and Future. Each of these types is classified into 4 aspects: simple tense, continuous or progressive tense, perfect tense, and perfect continuous or perfect progressive tense. The proper use of tenses makes communication clear and consistent, as each tense denotes a distinct time reference. To illustrate, the following examples refer to actions that happened at different points or durations of time: “I am eating strawberries”, ” I was eating strawberries”, and “I will have been eating strawberries for an hour by lunchtime.” The expression “am eating” describes an action that is ongoing at this very moment. Meanwhile, “was eating” refers to an ongoing action in the past that was interrupted. And the phrase “will have been eating” denotes the duration of an action that will be in progress in the future.

Verbs conjugations may appear similar, but each modified form follows a set of grammar rules. Here are the primary rules of the major tenses that serve as the foundation for their different aspects:

• Present Tense is for actions that occur in or around the current time.
• Past Tense is for actions that were completed or happened before.
• Future Tense is for actions that have yet to occur.

Read along to learn everything you need to know about the Future Perfect Continuous tense, which is described as the most complex tense of all 12 tenses. This article includes the definition, rules, and conjugations of the future perfect continuous tense through tables and over 100 examples.

Future Perfect Continuous Tense Definition and Meaning?

What is future perfect continuous tense exactly? Like all progressive tenses that describe actions that are in progress, the future perfect continuous tense highlights ongoing events. You use the tense for actions that emphasize the duration of an event at a future time. You also visualize yourself forward in time to look back to an ongoing activity or event. For example, “In January, Luca will have been supporting the foundation for 3 years.” Let’s the table below of all 4 future tenses and see how the future perfect continuous tense formula is conjugated:

Tenses	Examples
Simple Future Tense	Yoona will bake some bread. Tavan will hand me some papers. The lions will prowl the savannah. Al will tell us the story behind the event. Ramona will decorate her garden tomorrow.
Future Continuous Tense	We will be hiking at 8 am. Deborah will be washing the dishes. They will be resigning on Wednesday. She will be taking the puppies to the vet. Kiko will be driving sooner than expected.
Future Perfect Tense	They will have stayed for a week. Mocha will have given up her career. Kira will have studied history for a year. Younggi will have produced 3 more songs. I will have found a replacement by Monday.
Future Perfect Continuous Tense	He will have been writing for a day.  Fia will have been partying for 3 hours.  Peng will have been buying their products. Wilcox will have been coaching kids for 6 years in August. The company will have been expanding since the merger.

5 Tips on How should English Learners Best Study and Learn the Proper Usage of Future Perfect Continuous Tense Words?

1. Always be on the lookout for valuable grammar resources or reference materials such as articles on tenses that can be found on this blog. It’s a method to learn what you can, not only about the future perfect continuous tense but the other 11 tenses in English as well.

2. To develop proficiency and a strong understanding of the future perfect continuous tense structure, read as many examples of future perfect continuous tense. You’ll become naturally familiar and adept with its patterns on all sentence types.

3. Collect verbs in your self-study notes including their conjugations in various tenses and sentence structures. Just spending time to write them down will develop your background knowledge and memory about their rules and usage. Divide the verbs according to tenses such as the future perfect continuous tense. Ensure that each example of future perfect continuous tense is rooted in your experience of language requirements. Customized materials are more meaningful for your language studies.

4. Ask a friend or classmate to be your audience or interviewer. Tell them a story using the To do more practice, think of a personal story and narrate it using the structure of future perfect continuous tense. Of course, you can use other tenses where they may sense and strengthen your story. Don’t forget to follow future perfect continuous tense rules.

5. Create English grammar tables and charts. They will be accessible and easy to compare when needed. Include future perfect continuous tense sentences that you may have come across in other references and tweak them to become more relevant to your learning. 

15 Common Verb Examples in Future Perfect Continuous Tense Conjugation

Base Verb	Past Continuous Form
Edit	Dobrev will have been editing the video since we arrived at the studio.
Arrange	Kirigi will have been arranging the seating plan.
Paint	Yelena will have been painting the whole day.
Build	The children will have been building sand castles for 2 hours.
Write	Asuka will have been writing his book for a year next month.
Sleep	Marvin will have been sleeping for 12 hours if I didn’t wake him.
Recover	Many people will have been recovering from extreme floods.
Put	They will have been putting chemicals in the water supply for a decade.
Buy	Jae-bin will have been buying local artwork since he started working.
Imitate	Kenneth will have been imitating more celebrities if the show continued.
Develop	You will have been developing sturdy muscles through exercise.
Hike	For months, Tati will have been hiking every day in the hills behind the school.
Read	Navan will have been reading the morning paper for 30 minutes.
Camp	He will have been camping in the national park for months.
Act	On Tuesday, Rebecca will have been acting in the theater for 7 years.

What is the Future Perfect Continuous Tense Formula?

Future Perfect Continuous Tense Formula
Subject + Will have been + Present participle (-ing or continuous form) + Rest of the sentence.

Structures of the Future Perfect Continuous Tense

Each future perfect continuous tense example you have read so far follows the positive or affirmative type of sentence. The future perfect continuous tense rule uses the auxiliary verbs “will have been” and the -ing form of the verb or its present participle. The next segment will include other sentence types. In this case, the negative, interrogative, and interrogative negative structures of sentences. 

21 Future Perfect Continuous Tense Verbs in Other Sentence Types

Each future perfect continuous tense example in the following table deviates from the basic formula and is written in negative and question sentence structures.

(Important: Native speakers typically use the contraction “won’t” in English conversations. Spelling the contraction out as “will not” is also correct, but this is used more commonly in formal academic or business language requirements. We’ve used the contraction in the following table.)

Sentence Structure	Formula	Examples
Negative	Subject + Won’t have been + Present Participle + Rest of the sentence?	The kids won’t have been coloring. They won’t have been dating for a long time. Trina won’t have been solving the Math problem. Pascal won’t have been shouting from across the pool. I won’t have been watching 7 episodes of the new series. Billy won’t have been entering through the iron double doors. Ravishan won’t have been exploring the countryside for 2 months.
Interrogative	Will + Subject + Have been + Present Participle + Rest of the sentence?	Will Jeena have been driving 9 hours? Will Midari have been sterilizing the equipment? Will the dog have been gnawing the fence since lunch? Will Johnson have been looking for work for 6 months? Will Debbie have been writing comments online for 3 hours? Will Vida have been negotiating in the boardroom for 2 hours? Will Aida have been trying to reserve the venue since last week?
Interrogative Negative	Won’t + Subject + Have been+ Present Participle + Rest of the sentence?	Won’t Sohee have been calling her daughter? Won’t the students have been preparing for the test? Won’t Kirigi have been serving the department for 5 years? Won’t the cat have been missing for three days on Monday? Won’t Cara have been writing in her journal since 6th grade? Won’t the man in the white shirt have been waiting since 9 am? Won’t Limin have been prying the barn door open for 40 minutes?

Future Perfect Continuous Tense Usage

The rule of future perfect continuous tense isn’t difficult to follow. Use the auxiliary verbs “will have been” plus the present participle. This tense emphasizes the length of an event at a future time. You also imagine yourself looking back to an ongoing activity or event from some point in the future. Like the rest of the tenses, the future perfect continuous examples include all types of sentences such as affirmative sentences, closed and open questions, and their negative equivalents.

15 More Future Perfect Continuous Tense Examples

Each future perfect continuous example below is for further reference and familiarization.

1. The warden won’t have been calling the main office.

2. Won’t Celia have been teaching there for seven years?

3. Bingsu will have been generating popularity among kids.

4. Will Maria have been polishing the brass buckles for 2 hours?

5. Ravena won’t have been dealing with the review until midnight.

6. Won’t Griffin and Sabine have been finding a cheaper apartment?

7. Dr. Kimaru will have been administering CPR for forty-five minutes.

8. Letta will have been designing the contestants’ outfits for 7 months.

9. Will Lee Shun have been renting this apartment for a year next week?

10. Wilkinson will have been managing the Talisay branch for 3 summers.

11. Won’t Krista and Jimboy have been analyzing the plant’s energy levels?

12. Jared and Hilda won’t have been instructing at the studio for close to a year.

13. Habisham will have been making his popular lasagna for us for 3 Christmases.

14. Won’t Derevko have been supplying the restaurant chain anchovies for a decade?

15. Will Venable have been manning the front desk for 2 years before her promotion?

5 Common Mistakes English Students Make When Learning to Use the Future Perfect Continuous Tense

1. Spelling. It can be hard for English learners to remember how to spell verb conjugations correctly as there are quite a number of them. Even though the affirmative formula of future perfect continuous tense only uses the helping verb “will have been” and the main verb’s present participle form (which excludes an entire set of spelling rules for the past participle forms of irregular verbs), spelling errors are still made by many English language students.

2. Direct Translations. Translating directly rarely from your mother tongue rarely captures the essence of the original sentence. Also, since English is a highly creative language, expressions, phrases, or colloquialisms used by native English speakers may not have direct language equivalents and require more information or context. Translating is necessary in many cases, but making a habit of it ultimately forestalls improvement in language studies.

3. Wrong tenses. The continuous tenses are often confused with each other, especially since the definition of future perfect continuous tense and future continuous tense intersect a little, so using them can lead to mistakes.

4. Tense Switching. Many students do well in speaking short sentences or writing without pressure. Still, their proficiency falters when they need to talk for a long time. In particular, when summarizing or narrating a story. 

5. Singular learning method. Self-study can be done in many ways: having a vocabulary journal, using listen-and-repeat techniques, textbooks, or language learning software, hiring tutors, enrolling in English classes, customizing grammar tables or charts, and many others. Using only one method isn’t the best practice for studying English.

5 Ways to Avoid Making Common Mistakes

1. Adapt. Memorization is a crucial learning method for beginners. But without application, it won’t do much. Furthermore, language learners form habits that are sometimes wrong and need to be unlearned. If you find yourself having these, ensure that you adopt correct grammar rules to your language patterns. 

2. Be aware of tenses. Only the simple tenses and the present continuous are used in typical conversations. When narrating or summarizing, make a conscious effort of using the same tense: the past, the present, or the future. Only switch if it makes sense to the story or provides a background.

3. Practice Speaking. You can learn English for a hundred years and still not progress if you don’t make an effort to speak. Look for opportunities to engage in actual English conversations and apply what you’ve learned. 

4. Avoid translating directly. As mentioned previously, it’s natural to translate. But it’s ultimately fruitless and unfavorable to the learning process if it becomes habitual. It’s better to try and learn the English language through exposure, imitation, and repetition. That way you can develop language skills naturally.

5. Set Realistic Goals. Unrealistic goals can only lead to frustration and slow progress. The misguided desire for huge accomplishments at half the time is detrimental to learning a language. Mastering English takes time so it’s crucial to base your goals on your current level and the pace of learning.

The Future Perfect Continuous: Checking Your Understanding

Answer the future perfect continuous tense exercises below by changing the verbs in parenthesis to their correct forms:

Future Perfect Continuous Exercise:

1. Perrin (drink) …………………… for an hour at 11 pm.

2. Sae (teach) …………………… ballet for a year next week.

3. Zyrus (drive/negative) …………………… a taxi for 9 years in July.

4. (work/question) …… Kit ……………… with the police for 6 months?

5. Olivia (live/negative) …………………… in Dong Da for 2 years by 2023.

6. Next year, Dani (play) …………………… football for the school for 3 months.

7. Daria’s family (rent/negative) …………………… the unit for a year by September.

8. When Fifi completes the course, she (study) …………………… science for 2 years.

9. When Cris goes to Panay, he (travel) …………………… there every summer for 5 years.

10. (attend/question/negative) …… Eleanor (attend) ………………the weekly meetings for a year?

Answers:

1. Perrin will have been drinking for an hour at 11 pm.

2. Sae will have been teaching ballet for a year next week.

3. Zyrus won’t have been driving a taxi for 9 years in July.

4. Won’t Kit have been working with the police for 6 months?

5. Olivia won’t have been living in Dong Da for 2 years by 2023.

6. Next year, Dani will have been playing football for the school for 3 months.

7. Daria’s family won’t have been renting the unit for a year by September.

8. When Fifi completes the course, she will have been studying science for 2 years.

9. When Cris goes to Panay, he will have been traveling there every summer for 5 years.

10. Won’t Eleanor have been attending the weekly meetings for a year?

20 Future Perfect Continuous Tense Sentence Examples:

Future perfect progressive tense examples for finished actions

1. When you go to work, I will have been watering the plants.

2. When you order drinks, Su-an will have been walking to the bar.

3. Joanne will have been posting on her blog by the time you check.

4. Leo and Don will have been packing their luggage while you sleep.

5. Your mom will have been doing laundry when you finish your game.

Example of future perfect continuous for unfinished actions

6. Hiri will have been shopping the whole morning.

7. Durano will have been dancing in the gym for a few hours.

8. Sandrine will have been eating for 30 minutes by 9 this morning.

9. My grandfather will have been roasting chestnuts for an hour at 4 pm.

10. Gayoung will have been trekking the mountainside for 2 hours at 10 o’clock.

Cause and Effect

11. It will be smoky because you will have been burning leaves.

12. Her feet will hurt as she will have been using shoes that don’t fit.

13. Tracy will be sick because she will have been playing in the rain.

14. Onella will get a massage because her back will have been hurting.

15. They will be tired because they will have been practicing non-stop.

Negative future perfect continuous sentence without contractions

16. Will Maia not have been painting for an hour?

17. Ilaya will not have been marketing the new duplex.

18. Will Via have been singing at the karaoke for a week?

19. Damon will not have been sunbathing since this morning.

20. My students will have been writing future perfect continuous sentences.

Here are 10 common present participle forms verbs that are used in the Past Continuous Tense

1. Sonja will have been carrying the stone tablet.

2. The dogs will have been waiting for some chow.

3. They will have been using the hot tub behind the deck.

4. Quan won’t have been talking on the phone for two hours.

5. Aira will have been stirring the bird’s nest soup for nearly an hour.

6. Merrick will have been trying to wear her contacts since breakfast.

7. Lacson and Pon will have been setting ups the tent for 40 minutes.

8. Won’t he have been drinking 6 cups of tea when he finishes this one?

9. She will have been saying that “will have sentences” are easy to make.

10. Will Tara have been pulling debris out of the backyard since lunchtime?

Conclusion

This article has covered the basics of the future perfect continuous tense rule, conjugations for various sentence types, and over 100 examples as reference sentences.  You now have a working knowledge of the correct uses of future perfect continuous tense. You may want to stay awhile and look through our blog for pages dedicated to the other tenses, which all include comprehensive and significant information about their distinct functions. Additionally, there are exercises to check and reinforce your understanding. It’s crucial to utilize as many learning tools as you can find to ensure you’re fully equipped on your path to proficiency.

Frequently Asked Questions for Future Perfect Continuous Tense

Learn from History – Follow the Science – Listen to the Experts

What’s the one thing that makes LillyPad so special? Lilly! Lilly’s a personal English tutor, and has people talking all over the world! Lilly makes improving your English easy. With Lilly, you can read in four different ways, and you can read just about anything you love. And learning with Lilly, well that’s what you call liberating! 

For learners of all ages striving to improve their English, LillyPad combines the most scientifically studied and recommended path to achieving English fluency and proficiency with today’s most brilliant technologies!

Additionally, the platform incorporates goal-setting capabilities, essential tracking & reporting, gamification, anywhere-anytime convenience, and significant cost savings compared to traditional tutoring methodologies.

At LillyPad, everything we do is focused on delivering a personalized journey that is meaningful and life-changing for our members. LillyPad isn’t just the next chapter in English learning…

…it’s a whole new story!

Do you want to improve your English? Visit www.lillypad.ai.

Follow us on Facebook or Instagram!