In four years' time, I'll be studying English.
By 2030, I'll have finished studying English.
When you see these examples, do you understand how Future Continuous and Future Perfect are used? If you don’t, let’s figure it out.
Let’s start with Future Continuous (will be doing). We use it to refer to a temporary action or event that will be in progress at a certain time in the future.
We will be flying from Russia to Canada next Tuesday.
We use Future Continuous to make strong logical assumptions about long actions in the future based on the information that we have on our hands at the moment of speaking.
Anna can visit Tom during the next week. He won't be studying then.
We can use Future Continuous talk about future actions that are repeated or regular.
Mr. Flin will be giving the lecture in room 12 at four o’clock next Monday.
When we talk about arranged events or actions in the future, we can use either Future Continuous or Present Continuous.
We are leaving for Moscow at ten o’clock this evening.
We will be leaving for Moscow at ten o’clock this evening.
We use Future Continuous instead of “will” when we don’t want to show an intention, invitation or willingness.
Will you be visiting us again? – we are asking about sb’s plans.
Will you visit us again? – it looks like an invitation.
When we want to show the action that will be completed by a certain time in the future, we need to use Future Perfect (will have done sth).
Will you have gone to the doctor by the time I get back home?
This tense can be accompanied by the following tense markers: “not… until”, “by the time”, “in three days’ time” or “in two years’ time” etc., to show a period of time within which the action will be completed.
I won't have read all the books in three days’ time.
We use Future Perfect Continuous (will have been doing), when we want to emphasize the length or duration of an event or activity that will have remained in progress by a particular time in the future.
In August, she will have been living in Canada for ten years.
Tom will have been studying for 6 hours by the time you call him at lunchtime tomorrow.
With Future Perfect, Future Perfect Continuous and Future Simple we often use time linkers, such as “next year”, “by the time you get home” etc., to convey the idea that we are referring to future happenings.
Also, when we express logical assumptions based on our views – something that we “believe” or “imagine” to be true, we can use either Future Continuous, Future Perfect or Future Perfect Continuous.
Football fans will have been queuing at Wembley all day long to get the tickets for tomorrow’s match.
Football fans will have queued at Wembley by now to get the tickets for tomorrow’s match.
Football fans will be queuing at Wembley on Sunday to get the tickets for MU’s next match.
