Understanding future perfect tense

What is future perfect tense?

The future perfect tense is a verb tense that describes actions that will be completed in the future before another action or point in time. It’s formed by combining the auxiliary verb “will” with the verb “have” and the past participle of the main verb. This tense is typically used to emphasize the completion of an action before a specific point in the future.

Why is future perfect tense used?

The future perfect tense clarifies details about things that will happen at a later time. While simple future tense tells the reader that something will happen in the future, future perfect tense specifies that an event or action will be in the present tense once it happens in the future. Although this verb tense may be a little confusing to explain, it’s a good way of explaining the timeline of things.

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What does future perfect tense look like?

To better explain what future perfect tense is, let’s use an example of a sentence that is written in simple future tense and change it to future perfect tense. A sentence in simple future tense looks like this:

• Louisa’s birthday party will occur one month from now.

The same sentence in future perfect tense will look like this:

• In one month from now, Louisa’s birthday party will have occurred.

Using simple future tense for the example above would make more sense if you were just stating that Louisa’s birthday party will occur in six months. However, the future perfect tense is useful when you add some more context about the timing of the party:

• I have to order the cake soon! The best bakeries can get booked up months in advance, and Louisa’s birthday party will have already occurred in a month.

With additional context about the tight delivery times with customized cakes, it makes sense to point out that Louisa’s birthday will have already happened past the estimated timeline of the bakeries. By stating that the main event could potentially occur before the cake is ready, the reader will have a good idea of how urgent the matter is.

More examples of future perfect tense

Still not sure when to use future perfect tense? Here are some more examples to show you what situations would call for the use of this verb tense:

• You should leave for the airport soon. Traffic can be bad at this time, and Veronica will have already arrived by 7:00.
• If you use a budgeting app to manage your money, you will have so much more in your savings account next month.
• In a few weeks, Alex will have lived with us for a year.
• The geese will have migrated by November.
• By the time you wake up to this message, I will have left for work.

Verb tenses can be tricky, but knowing how to use them correctly will improve the way you write and speak. Visit our Writing Resource Center to learn more grammar rules and writing tips.