Future Perfect

B2 · Upper IntermediateFuture Forms

The future perfect lets you look forward to a point in the future and describe something that will already be finished by then.

What you'll learn

  • Formed with will have + past participle (I will have graduated, she will have finished)
  • Describes an action completed before a specific future point
  • Common signal phrases: by, by the time, by next year, by then
  • Contrasts with the simple will future, which doesn't mark completion

Finished by a future point

The future perfect describes an action that will already be complete at a specific moment in the future — you're looking back from that future point at something already done.

"By next year, I will have graduated."
"By 6pm, she will have finished the report."

Formation: will have + past participle

The future perfect is built with will have followed by the past participle of the main verb. The negative adds not: won't have. Questions invert will and the subject.

"We won't have arrived by then."
"Will you have finished by Friday?"

Common signal words

The future perfect almost always appears with a phrase marking the future deadline: by, by the time, by next year, by then. Without one of these, plain will or will be doing is usually more natural.

"By the time you read this, I will have left."
"By 2030, scientists will have developed new treatments."

Future perfect vs. simple will

Simple will just states a future action will happen; the future perfect specifically marks that it will be done — complete — by a stated future point.

"He will save money next year. (a future action)"
"He will have saved enough money by the summer. (complete by then)"

Real English

"By midnight, the storm will have passed."
"By the time we land, they will have started the meeting."
"Will she have completed the course by June?"
"By 2025, the company will have doubled its revenue."

Watch out

✗By next year, I will graduated.
✓By next year, I will have graduated.

Don't drop have — the future perfect needs will have, not just will, before the past participle.

✗By 6pm, she will have finish the report.
✓By 6pm, she will have finished the report.

After will have, use the past participle (finished), not the base form.

✗By next year, I will graduate already.
✓By next year, I will have graduated.

Adding already to simple will doesn't create the meaning of the future perfect — you need will have + past participle.

Real life — Planning a deadline

"Will the report be ready before the client call?"

"Yes — by then, I will have finished the final draft."

"And the budget numbers?"

"Those too. By 6pm, we will have sent everything over."

Practice

Exercise 1 · Choose the correct sentence

Choose the correct sentence — completed before a future point.

Exercise 2 · Choose the correct sentence

Choose the correct sentence.

Exercise 3 · Choose the correct negative

Choose the correct negative.

Exercise 4 · Choose the correct question

Choose the correct question.

Exercise 5 · Choose the correct sentence

Choose the correct sentence.

Exercise 6 · Choose the correct answer

Which phrase often signals the future perfect?

Exercise 7 · Choose the correct sentence

Choose the correct sentence.

Exercise 8 · Choose the correct sentence

Choose the correct sentence.

Exercise 9 · Complete the sentence

Complete: 'By the end of the year, we ___ (save) enough for a trip.' (future perfect)

Exercise 10 · Complete the sentence

Complete: 'By next month, they ___ (not/finish) the renovation.' (negative)

Exercise 11 · Sort into groups

will have left
will leave
will have eaten
will eat
will have arrived
will arrive

0 / 6 sorted

Quick challenge

Five quick questions to check what stuck.

Question 1 / 5

Score: 0/0

Choose the correct sentence.

You learned

  • Future perfect is formed with will have + past participle.
  • It describes an action completed before a specific future point.
  • It's almost always paired with a signal phrase like by or by the time.
  • It contrasts with simple will, which doesn't mark completion.

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